Maran Gas LNG tanker loading first export cargo from Elba

A Maran Gas LNG tanker is currently loading at Kinder Morgan’s Elba LNG terminal near Savannah, Georgia, as the facility prepares for its first export.

According to S&P Global Platts, the Maran Gas Lindos LNG tanker was moored to a jetty at Elba over the weekend, and the latest AIS data shows it is still docked there.

The vessel has already started loading LNG, though it is yet unclear when the vessel will depart.

On Monday, several tug boats assisted the tanker in shifting its position slightly. Its destination after departure is still unknown.

Whether the first cargo will depart aboard the Maran Gas Lindos or another tanker that was to arrive later is also unknown.

There is a second jetty at the site, which used to solely be an import facility before being converted to be able to handle exports.

The Maran Gas Lindos last dropped off a cargo at Rotterdam in the Netherlands on November 21 before heading to the U.S. the following day.

Elba is the smallest of the existing U.S. LNG export terminals. It could take as long as 100 days for each of the 10 trains planned for Elba, with a nameplate capacity of around 33 mmcfpd, to fill a standard LNG cargo.

As of Monday, December 9, it had been 145 days since Elba began producing LNG from its first train on July 17. In comparison, a single train at Cheniere’s Sabine Pass terminal could fill a standard cargo in just under six days. Additional trains at Elba have come online since initial production began.

It is also worth noting that Kinder Morgan signed a 20-year offtake agreement with Shell for LNG from the Elba facility.