Tellurian Inc. (Tellurian) announced that the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued an extension to its order authorizing the construction of Tellurian’s Driftwood liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility near Lake Charles, Louisiana. As extended, the order requires construction to be completed by April 18, 2029. Tellurian applied for the extension last year to ensure it had enough time to complete the construction of all five plants of the facility. When completed, the facility will have a capacity of 27.6 million MTPA.
“Tellurian thanks FERC for working with our team to ensure the safe construction of Driftwood LNG,” said Tellurian Chief Executive Officer, Octávio Simões. “FERC has been diligent in its oversight, having visited the site 19 times already, and provided careful examination of this extension request. We have invested more than a billion dollars into Driftwood LNG’s development, we have our approval to export and all applicable construction permits, and we are eager to provide the world with LNG exports.”
The extension gives Tellurian the time needed to secure funding and long-term contracts, as well as execute on the project’s construction. It also validates that Driftwood LNG is immune from the recent pause on LNG projects. On January 26, 2024, the Biden Administration paused approvals for pending and future applications to export LNG from new projects. During this time, the Department of Energy will conduct a review that will “take a hard look at the impacts of LNG exports on energy costs, America’s energy security, and our environment.” Existing and under construction US LNG projects are not affected by the pause. Seven LNG terminals are currently operating in the United States. As many as 11 expansions could come online in the next five years.
