Freeport LNG delays first export to later in month

The Freeport LNG terminal in Texas has pushed back the scheduled date for its first export to later this month from mid-August, the company told Argus today.

It did not provide a more precise timeline.

The first LNG at the facility was produced on 12 August and production has continued since then, Freeport added.

The facility is located about 60 miles (97km) south of Houston.

The company still expects long-term contractual deliveries to begin in September after commissioning cargoes are exported and testing is completed.

Freeport likely would be the sixth, and last, of the first wave of US LNG export projects to be placed into long-term service. The Elba Island LNG project in Georgia on 8 August asked the US Federal Regulatory Commission for authorization to start long-term service by 16 August, but FERC has not yet issued a decision.

Freeport on 5 August said it did not expect a gas leak that was resolved at the facility to delay the date of the first export. It did not comment today on the slight delay of the export of the first test cargo.

Freeport gas intake has averaged 54mn cf/d (1.5mn m³/d) since 15 August, after dropping to zero on 13-14 August, according to gas pipeline nominations. The facility started receiving gas on 13 July, with the highest daily total reaching 241mn cf on 16 July.

Freeport is building three liquefaction trains at a combined cost of $15.5bn for combined peak capacity of 15.6mn t/yr, equivalent to 2.1 Bcf/d of gas.

Freeport train 2 is scheduled to come on line in early 2020 and train 3 by mid-2020. Freeport has proposed building a fourth liquefaction train with similar capacity but it has not yet sold enough capacity to finance construction.