DOE okays LNG export at MS site

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Fossil Energy issued an order to Gulf LNG Liquefaction Company LLC (GLLC) approving exports of domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Gulf LNG Liquefaction Project. The project, located near Pascagoula, Miss., is owned 50 percent by Kinder Morgan’s Southern Gulf LNG Company LLC, will add liquefaction and export capabilities to Gulf LNG Terminal - an existing import terminal owned by Gulf LNG Energy LLC. GLLC will have authority to export up to 1.53B cubic feet/per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas as LNG from the proposed project. GLLC is authorized to export this LNG by vessel to any country with which the U.S. does not have a free trade agreement (FTA) requiring national treatment for trade in natural gas, and with which trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or policy. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized GLLC to site, construct, and operate the Project on July 16, 2019. DOE’s announcement also approved 34.52 Bcf/d of exports in the form of LNG and compressed natural gas to non-FTA countries. U.S. LNG export capacity, currently at about 6 Bcf/d is set to grow to over 10 Bcf/d by the end of 2020. “This announcement advances the Trump administration’s commitment to energy security here at home and for our friends abroad,” DOE Secretary Rick Perry said in a statement. In its review of the project, DOE indicated that it had “reviewed the evidence in the record … and have not found an adequate basis to conclude that GLLC’s proposed exports will be inconsistent with the public interest … (and) further find that Sierra Club has failed to overcome the statutory presumption that the proposed export authorization is not consistent with the public interest.” (Source: DOE 07/31/19)