Page 10 - GLNG Week 33
P. 10
GLNG AMERICAS GLNG
Start-up milestones for Cameron LNG, Freeport LNG
PERFORMANCE
THE rst liquefaction train at Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG terminal on the Louisiana coast has started commercial production of LNG, the company announced on August 19.
“ is is an exciting moment for Cameron LNG and for Sempra Energy,” said Sempra North American Infrastructure’s chairman and CEO, Carlos Ruiz Sacristan, in a statement. “Cameron LNG is exporting lique ed natural gas (LNG) to customers in the largest world mar- kets, helping to support economic growth in the US and abroad.”
On the same day, Freeport LNG Develop- ment also confirmed that its project on the Texas coast had entered production. Freeport and Cameron LNG are the last projects in the first wave of US liquefaction capacity to be built in the Lower 48 US states in recent years, aside from Kinder Morgan’s Elba Island LNG. That project was due to launch earlier this year, but experienced a number of delays dur- ing commissioning. It was reported this week that Kinder Morgan had asked the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for authorisation to start long-term service by August 16. However, the FERC has not yet published its response.
Freeport LNG registered its initial output on August 12, but a day later a gasket ruptured, resulting in the release of refrigerant and requir- ing repairs before the start-up process could be o cially announced. On August 19, however, the project was reported as having achieved sus- tained production. e rst cargo from Freeport LNG is expected later this month.
e Freeport project includes three liquefac- tion trains, with initial LNG production from the second and third trains anticipated in the fourth
quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 respectively. Each train has a capacity of around 5mn tonnes per year of LNG. A proposal for a fourth train, which would add a further 5mn tpy of LNG production to the project, has been approved by regulators. e fourth train would begin operations in 2023.
Japanese utilities Osaka Gas and Chubu Elec- tric Power are the main long-term o akers from the rst train at Freeport LNG, with each having struck deals that account for 2.2mn tpy of capac- ity at the plant.
At Cameron LNG, the rst phase of the pro- ject includes three trains, which will have a com- bined capacity of 12mn tpy of LNG.
Federal regulators have given Cameron LNG until September 2020 to complete the second and third trains at the facility.
Sempra Energy indirectly owns 50.2% of
Cameron LNG. A liates of Total, Mitsui & Co.
and Japan LNG Investment – which is jointly
owned by Mitsubishi and Nippon Yusen Kabu-
shiki Kaisha (NYK) – are the other partners in to a number of Cameron.
Attention will now increasingly turn to a
number of proposed projects that would make
up the second wave of US LNG exports. is wave of US LNG week, Venture Global LNG announced a nal
investment decision (FID) on the Calcasieu
Pass LNG terminal in Louisiana. (See: Venture
Global announces Calcasieu Pass FID, page 8)
is is the second new export project to reach
FID this year a er Golden Pass LNG, which
is being jointly developed by ExxonMobil and
Qatar Petroleum (QP). Meanwhile, the oper-
ators of existing export terminals are adding
new trains, including leading US exporter
Cheniere Energy.
Attention will now increasingly turn
proposed projects that would make up the second
exports.
P10
w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m Week 33 22•August•2019
