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Freeport LNG raises $1B for 4th train at Texas export terminal

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Freeport LNG raises $1B for 4th train at Texas export terminal

Freeport LNG Development LP secured funding for up to about $1 billion for a project to expand its LNG export terminal in Texas with a fourth liquefaction train.

The privately held LNG export developer executed definitive agreements for a group led by investment manager Westbourne Capital to provide a loan of up to $1.025 billion to a Freeport LNG unit, according to a Sept. 9 news release. Freeport LNG said it expects the financing, along with a bank facility, to cover all of the capital required for Train 4.

"We are happy to continue to progress our Train 4 expansion with an eye towards [a final investment decision] in the next several months," Freeport LNG founder, Chairman and CEO Michael Smith said in the release. "The Westbourne-led consortium have all been very supportive investors of Freeport in the past and we are excited to do more with them to grow the company."

The first train of the original Freeport LNG project shipped the first commissioning cargo Sept. 3, and the company said it expects to begin commercial operations later in the month. The second and third trains are slated to start up in 2020.

The project will be able to produce about 15.3 million tonnes per annum of LNG once the first three trains are in service. The fourth train is expected to add 5.1 mtpa of liquefaction capacity.

Since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authorized Freeport LNG in May to build the fourth train, market observers have watched for commercial progress and other milestones needed to advance the project.

Westbourne Capital is an independent investment manager based in Australia. It said it has raised $10 billion of capital to date and completed 70 debt investments across North America, Europe and Australia.

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