The US Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Oct. 28 approved ST LNG LLC’s application for a deepwater port license for an $8.2-billion LNG export plant planned about 10.4 miles offshore Matagorda County, Tex.

MARAD said construction would begin in 2027 with in-service in 2029. At full capacity of 8.4 million tonnes/year (tpy), the plant would include 20 fixed offshore platforms, 4 LNG floating storage units, 4 mooring systems, 4 liquefaction systems, and 7.7 miles of pipeline. ST LNG expects to develop the project in 4 independent phases, each with a nominal liquefaction capacity of 2.1-million tpy.  

The approval clears a major federal regulatory hurdle, but ST LNG still must meet outstanding federal and state requirements, secure customer commitments, arrange financing and reach a final investment decision. The privately held company's proposed plant would be its first LNG export project.

ST LNG plans to obtain feed gas from the Tres Palacios Natural Gas Storage and Trading Hub and the Williams Markham Gas Processing Plant through an existing 36-in. OD Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) pipeline about 5.6 miles northeast of the port. The project includes a proposed 5.6-mile pipeline lateral connecting the offshore plant to the existing pipeline, along with 2.1 miles of interconnecting pipelines between the four phases.

MARAD said it completed the project's Final Environmental Impact Statement in 410 days, about 3.7 years faster than the historical average. The agency called it the fastest deepwater port license review in more than 20 years.

In a statement, MARAD Administrator Stephen M. Carmel said ST LNG represents the Trump administration's third deepwater port license approval.

The US Department of Energy on Apr. 22 authorized ST LNG to export LNG equivalent to 460 bcf/year of natural gas to countries with which the US has qualifying free trade agreements (FTA). DOE is separately reviewing the company's request to export LNG to non-FTA countries.