Tellurian has applied to the Federal Energy Regulatory Authority for a three-year construction permit extension to complete construction of the Driftwood LNG facility.
With a capacity of up to 27.6 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year, the Driftwood LNG plant under construction would be one of the largest in the world. The project has a current price tag of $25 billion.
Construction appears to be progressing more slowly than expected, prompting the extension request. Tellurian said it would not receive key equipment for the first phase of the plant until 2027 and additional equipment for the second phase of development until 2029, which would also push the plant’s in-service date to 2029.
In total, Driftwood LNG will consist of five liquefaction trains, with the first phase of development expected to add 11 million tons of LNG per year to the U.S. total. Earlier this month, Tellurian’s president and chief executive told Petroleum Economist that first production is planned for 2027.
Currently, the EIA said in its Annual Energy Outlook 2023 earlier this year, LNG export facilities in the United States have a combined operating capacity of 11.4 billion cubic feet per day under actual operating conditions.
An additional 7.3 billion cubic feet per day of capacity is under construction, while another 18.3 billion cubic feet per day of potential LNG export capacity has received full regulatory approval from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission but has not yet received a final investment decision.
In the near term, U.S. LNG exports are also expected to increase from 10.59 billion cubic feet per day last year, when Freeport LNG was shut down, to 12.07 billion cubic feet per day this year and 12.73 billion cubic feet per day in 2024, according to the Energy Information Administration.