Freeport LNG Expansion LP expects later this month to close on financing and begin construction on the first two trains of its natural gas liquefaction and LNG export facility on Quintana Island near Freeport, Tex.
Financing and the start of construction on the third train are expected in next year’s second quarter.
The plans follow the denial of pending rehearing requests by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and final authorization from the Department of Energy to export to countries without a free-trade agreement with the US (OGJ Online, Nov. 14, 2014).
Freeport LNG in 2012 let contracts to a joint venture of CB&I Inc. and Zachry Industrial Inc. to construct the initial two trains, which are respectively expected to start operations 45 and 50 months from the start of construction (OGJ Online, Feb. 17, 2012). The third train is expected to be in operation 6 months following the second train.
Each liquefaction train has a nameplate design capacity of 4.64 million tonnes/year. About 13.2 million tpy of the production capacity of the three liquefaction trains has been contracted under use-or-pay liquefaction tolling agreements with Osaka Gas, Chubu Electric, BP Energy Co., Toshiba Corp., and SK E&S LNG LLC.