West Delta LNG has asked the U.S. Maritime Administration for permission to build a deepwater port, including a six-train LNG export terminal with total optimal capacity of up to 6.1 million tonnes per annum.
The project, which would be located about 12 miles offshore Plaquemines Parish, La., would join a slew of U.S. Gulf Coast LNG exports proposed to enter service in the mid-2020s. But the developer, a subsidiary of LNG 21 Group, headed by CEO and director John Schiller, suggested in a recent investor presentation that overall LNG capacity utilization would be around 90% at that time, requiring new capacity to satisfy demand.
On its website, LNG 21 said the proposed location of the export terminal in federal waters offshore Louisiana offers the advantage of streamlined permitting under the U.S. Maritime Administration's, or MARAD's, process, with a defined 365-day time limit. An application through MARAD could potentially avoid a more drawn-out review at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The company also said the location had relatively little marine traffic. LNG 21 did not respond to queries about the project on Sept. 26 or Sept. 27, but it did provide its views of the project on the website and in the investor presentation.
LNG 21 described the project as a "world-first fixed-platform natural gas liquefaction facility with uncongested open-water access for LNG carriers, free of the coastal footprint that burdens shore-based facilities."
"LNG exporters in inland waterway systems under the best of circumstances will face half a day of transit time," and face the potential for extreme congestion delays during bad weather, the company said in its presentation.
Offshore components of the project would include an LNG production and storage unit, a loading platform, and a marine berth unit, along with support facilities, West Delta LNG said in its application to MARAD, filed Sept. 26. The deepwater port entails 13 platforms supported by jacks and piles and connected by bridges.
Onshore, the proposed Venice pretreatment plant in Plaquemines Parish would be capable of processing about 900 MMcf/d of feedgas in an optimized case within the grounds of an existing processing facility, the 121-acre Venice gas complex. Liquefaction-ready gas would be shipped from the Venice plant through a proposed 30-inch pipeline that would run across land for 4.3 miles and then extend 15.5 miles through the water to the offshore deepwater port.
In its notice of the application, MARAD said installation of pipelines and other structures for the project may require U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, and possibly U.S. Environmental Protection Agency permits under the Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act.
Maya Weber is a reporter with S&P Global Platts. S&P Global Market Intelligence and S&P Global Platts are owned by S&P Global Inc.
