According to an application dated June 26, Golden Pass requests that DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management issue an order granting GPLNG to engage in short-term exports of up to 50 Bcf of LNG, on a cumulative basis, that will have been previously imported into the US from foreign sources.
The JV is seeking such authorization to export previously imported LNG from the GPLNG terminal, in Sabine Pass, Texas, to any country with the capacity to import LNG via ocean-going carrier and with which trade is not prohibited by US law or policy.
Moreover, the LNG supplies that are proposed to be exported would be derived from GPLNG’s LNG importing activities and will be residing in LNG storage tanks at the terminal.
The LNG supplies will either be re-exported or regasified to be used as fuel gas at the facility.
GPLNG further plans to use the imported LNG as part of the start-up of its export facility.
And, contingent on US and global market price signals, the LNG supplies could be regasified to be consumed in the domestic natural gas market, it said.
GPLNG seeks approval for a two-year period starting on October 1, 2025.
Three trains
Japan’s Chiyoda and US-based McDermott recently signed a binding term sheet with GPLNG to complete the construction of the second and third liquefaction units at the giant LNG export plant in Texas.
Chiyoda said that the JV partners and GPLNG will “continue engagements to finalize amendment to the contract and will disclose promptly when we conclude such agreement.”
State-owned QatarEnergy owns a 70 percent stake in the Golden Pass LNG 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’s CB&I, 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 in May last year 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.
In November 2024, Chiyoda and US-based CB&I reached a deal with Golden Pass LNG to complete the construction of the first liquefaction at the LNG export plant.
After that, Houston-based McDermott completed the sale of its CB&I storage business to a consortium of financial investors led by New York-based Mason Capital Management.
QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil, along with their contractors, continue to advance construction on their massive Golden Pass LNG export facility.
In February this year, ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods said he expects the QatarEnergy-led Golden Pass LNG export project to produce first LNG volumes by the end of this year, “potentially slipping into early next year.”
