Louisiana’s Fourchon LNG enters FERC pre-filing22 Aug 2017...

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0	Column 1 0 Louisiana’s Fourchon LNG enters FERC pre-filing22 Aug 2017 21:35 (+01:00 GMT)

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Houston, 22 August (Argus) — The proposed Fourchon LNG export project in Louisiana has initiated a US regulatory review for construction approval.The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) yesterday approved the project's request to enter the agency's pre-filing review process. FERC requires LNG projects to be in pre-filing at least six months to identify major engineering and environmental issues before submitting a formal application for construction approval.A FERC review can cost a developer as much as $150mn for a complex LNG project.Fourchon LNG is owned by Australia-based LNG developer Energy World Corp (EWC). The facility would be built in Lafourche parish, south of New Orleans along the southeastern Louisiana coast.The project is slated to come on line in the fourth quarter of 2021 with first-phase capacity of 2mnt/yr, equivalent to about 267mn cf/d (7.6mn m³/d) of gas, EWC told FERC in its 3 August application to enter the pre-filing process.A second phase scheduled to come on line in the fourth quarter of 2023 would increase capacity to 5mn t/yr.EWC has leased a 40-acre parcel from the Greater Lafourche Port Commission for 10 years and has an option to extend the lease by 25 years. EWC also has a right of first refusal to lease up to 102 additional acres.The port commission said in February that the project would be largest single initial investment in the history of both Port Fourchon and Lafourche parish. The first phase is estimated to cost $800mn, but no cost estimate has been provided for the second phase.EWC plans to install up to 10 modular liquefaction trains, each with capacity of 0.5mn t/yr. It will primarily market the first 0.5mn t/yr of output for domestic consumption, including LNG-fueled marine vessels.EWC has not reached any binding customer deals, and it is unclear if the project could move forward without such deals.EWC is also eyeing as potential customers gas-fired power plants in the Asia Pacific that it plans to develop or are owned by other entities. It also plans to market supplies to Jamaica and the wider Caribbean region.EWC told FERC that it plans to soon apply to the US Department of Energy for export licenses.The project would need a short pipeline lateral of about 1,800 feet (549m) to receive gas from nearby and intrastate pipeline systems. It would have two storage tanks, each with capacity of 88,000m³, equivalent to 1.8 Bcf of gas, and a berth capable of accommodating LNG vessels with capacities of up to 180,000m³.EWC owns the existing Alice Springs power plant in Australia's Northern Territory and the Sengkang power station in South Sulawesi, Indonesia, and is developing other gas and power projects in the Asia Pacific. It plans to soon start importing supplies at its Pagbilao LNG terminal in the Philippines. It also also building the 500,000 t/yr Sengkang LNG export terminal in Indonesia.

Not much I can say other than it will be years before EWC have to spend any money on construction. Which is a good thing as at present they have little funds to cover this proposed terminal.