The US DOE has granted a long-term license to Gulfstream LNG, a new LNG project developer led by Vivek Chandra, to export liquefied natural gas to FTA nations from the latter’s proposed mid-sized greenfield liquefaction plant in Louisiana.
According to a DOE filling dated June 26, Gulfstream LNG received authorization to export domestically produced LNG in a volume equivalent to 237.5 Bcf per year of natural gas, or 0.65 Bcf per day (Bcf/d), for a term to commence on the date of first export following the start of commercial operation of the project, and to extend through December 31, 2050.
This LNG may be exported to Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jordan, Mexico, Morocco, Nicaragua, Oman, Panama, Peru, Republic of Korea, and Singapore.
Also, Gulfstream LNG won authorization to export this LNG to any nation with which the US subsequently enters into a FTA requiring national treatment for trade in natural gas, DOE said.
Besides this approval, Gulfstream LNG also signed a term-sheet with a gas transportation company, according to a report by Reuters.
The company expects to receive non-FTA approval once its FERC application has progressed, the report said.
Electric facility
In February, Gulfstream LNG announced that it filed an application to the US DOE seeking authorization to export up to four million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG to free trade agreement and non-FTA countries.
This followed Gulfstream LNG’s execution of a long-term lease agreement in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, securing a location to develop its export project.
Gulfstream LNG’s 500-acre site, which includes over 1.3 km of deepwater Mississippi River frontage, is located south of New Orleans in Louisiana, a state accounting for over 50 percent of US LNG exports.
The company’s team is designing the facility based on the use of mid-scale modular liquefaction trains successfully deployed and operating in other liquefaction projects in the region, it said.
Moreover, electrical drives using power generated from low carbon and renewable fuels will drive the liquefaction trains, according to the firm.
In contrast to other facilities on the Gulf Coast, Gulfstream LNG plans to service domestic, regional, and international LNG markets via river barges, small ships, bunkering vessels, and large tanker exports, it said.
Gulfstream LNG’s founder and CEO, Vivek Chandra, who previously founded Texas LNG, said that the firm expects to launch production in less than six years.