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State-owned QatarEnergy owns a 70 percent stake in the Golden Pass project with a capacity of more than 18 mtpa and will offtake 70 percent of the capacity, while US energy firm ExxonMobil has a 30 percent share.
A joint venture of Chiyoda, McDermott, and Zachry won the EPC contract to build the three Golden Pass trains worth about $10 billion next to the existing LNG import terminal in the vicinity of Sabine Pass, Texas.
However, Zachry Holdings said on May 21 that it had filed for bankruptcy, initiating a structured exit from the Golden Pass LNG export project due to “financial challenges” related to the facility’s construction.
Golden Pass LNG told LNG Prime on July 25 that it will ramp up construction activities at the LNG terminal after a bankruptcy court approved a settlement agreement with Zachry.
Delayed about six months
Woods said in August that the JV expects to start LNG production at the first Golden Pass LNG train in the second half of 2025, “a 6-month slippage” from the previous estimate.
“We anticipate today that venture will basically be delayed by about six months,” Woods told analysts on Friday during the company’s third-quarter results report.
“So we expect to see first LNG out of that train in the back end of 2025, potentially slipping over into the new year, but it will be in that time frame that we see,” he said.
“And then, of course, after that, we anticipate about six months separation between the trains coming on,” he said.
“So I think that venture has done a lot of really good work to overcome what was a pretty challenging set of circumstances, and we feel pretty good about the path that they’re on,” he said.
“There’s still more work to do, but I think a really good vector and the fact that the existing contractors that were involved in that venture have stepped in to fill the void and pick up the baton and keep running the race, I think is a huge testament to those and their commitment to the success of this project, along with all the folks at the venture who are working this real hard,” Woods said.
Three-year extension
Golden Pass LNG recently secured a three-year extension from the US FERC to put its LNG export facility in Texas into service.
Under the original FERC order from 2016, Golden Pass LNG was required to complete and place into service the LNG export terminal by December 21, 2021.
In response to an extension request filed by Golden Pass LNG in December 2019, FERC granted an extension of the in-service deadline until and including November 30, 2026.
In August this year, Golden Pass LNG requested that the Commission amends its prior authorizations to further extend the deadline for placing the export project facilities in service.
The JV said this period accounts for both the delays caused by the bankruptcy filing of Zachry Industrial, “remaining schedule uncertainties related to the transition to a new lead contractor (CB&I), and other possible delays outside of GPLNG’s control that may occur such as potential hurricane impacts, and for commissioning and start-up activities.”