US LNG firm Tellurian and compatriot engineering and construction giant Bechtel are moving forward with the initial construction work at the Driftwood LNG terminal in Louisiana.
Tellurian issued a limited notice to proceed to Bechtel in March last year.
Under the first phase, Tellurian aims to build two LNG plants near Lake Charles with an export capacity of up to 11 mtpa and expects the costs to reach up to $13.6 billion.
Last week, the firm released a drone footage (below) showing the activities at the Driftwood LNG site in April.
Construction activities include site preparation, offloading of concrete pile shipments, mobilization of construction equipment and tools, concrete foundations, and pile driving activities.
Tellurian previously said that up to 250 workers are currently working at the site and the firm has spent about $1 billion on the project up to date.
The firm is still targeting first LNG cargo by the end of 2026.
Financing
While the initial site work continues at the Driftwood LNG site, Tellurian is working on securing financing for the project.
The US FERC also recently granted authorization for Driftwood Pipeline’s Line 200 and Line 300, an approximate $1.4 billion natural gas transmission project proposed to be located in Beauregard and Calcasieu Parishes, Louisiana.
Tellurian recently signed a land sale and leaseback deal for the Driftwood land worth $1 billion with a New York-based institutional investor.
In addition, Tellurian said in April it will ask its shareholders at its annual meeting to approve doubling the number of its common shares, as it continues to work on financing the first phase of its Driftwood LNG export plant.
The company plans to hold the meeting in Houston on June 7.