FERC approves Driftwood LNG site preparation work

U.S. energy regulator has approved Tellurian’s request to start site preparation work at its $27.5 billion Driftwood liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project in Louisiana.

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said on Wednesday that Tellurian could start vegetation clearing and grading, demolition and removal of existing buildings, and dredging of marine berths, on the location of the Driftwood project.

Driftwood is designed to produce 27.6 mtpa of LNG or about 3.6 bcfd of natural gas. Tellurian plans to start building the liquefaction plant in early 2020 and produce the first LNG from the facility in 2023.

Driftwood is one of about a dozen LNG export projects in North America that said they could decide to build their plants in 2020. Together, those plants could produce over 160 mtpa of LNG.

It is worth noting that Tellurian partnered in the project with Total, Vitol, Petronet LNG, GE, and Bechtel, which has a contract to build the $15.4 billion liquefaction facility. Pipelines, reserves and other expenses make up the rest of the project’s cost.

To remind, Tellurian signed a memorandum of understanding with India’s Petronet LNG for a potential purchase of up to 5 mtpa from the Driftwood export project back in September.