Tellurian, Petronet renew Driftwood LNG talks

US LNG export player Tellurian has reportedly renewed talks with India’s Petronet regarding an investment of up to $2.5 billion in its Driftwood development in Louisiana.

Tellurian’s 27.6 mtpa Driftwood project sustained a major setback in May when a preliminary deal with Petronet LNG fell through.

Following the lapse of the deal and due to the effects related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the US LNG developer also delayed a final investment decision on its Driftwood project to 2021.

Under the preliminary deal, Petronet planned to take a $2.5 billion equity stake in Driftwood.

The deal also called for the Indian company to buy up to five million tonnes per year of LNG from the project.

Hovewher, there is now a new twist to it as several media reports on Tuesday claim that the duo renewed talks to give the parties more time.

Reuters reported citing unidentified sources that the two companies now have time until the end of December to finalize the deal.

The agency says the deal was renewed last week ahead of a virtual meeting between Indian oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan and U.S. Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette.

This move comes just weeks after Tellurian’s co-founder Charif Souki  said he was “re-engaging” to provide additional support to the company taking up the role of executive chairman.

Tellurian expects the total cost of its Driftwood LNG project to be about $28.9 billion.

France’s Total is currently the only company that made a firm commitment to support the project with a $500 million investment.

The project is ready for construction, having received necessary permits and with 30 percent of engineering with Bechtel completed.

Tellurian’s shares trading on Nasdaq rose 56.4 percent on Tuesday to $1.58 per share valuing the company at 423.1 million.