Total of France on Tuesday said it has acquired a 23 percent stake in Tellurian Investments for a US$207 million, gaining access to the proposed Driftwood LNG project.
According to the joint statement, Total intends to develop an integrated gas project, from the acquisition of competitive gas production in the US to the delivery of LNG to international markets from the Driftwood LNG terminal.
Tellurian president and CEO Meg Gentle said, “Total’s investment materially strengthens Tellurian’s position as a large infrastructure development company and is an important milestone in the growth of Tellurian’s LNG business, including the Driftwood LNG project in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.”
Speaking of the investment, Total president of gas, renewables and power Philippe Sauquet added that the move gives Total the opportunity to potentially strengthen its mid and long term LNG portfolio.
Tellurian, a company established by former CEO of Cheniere, Charif Souki and Martin Houston, former COO of BG Group, now owned by Shell, is in the engineering design and pre-filing phase of the Driftwood LNG project.
The facility will be located on the west side of the Calcasieu River in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, approximately five miles south of the town of Carlyss.
Natural gas will be delivered to the LNG facility from existing interstate pipeline systems via a proposed new 96- mile-long pipeline that includes up to 15-meter stations and associated tie-ins at up to 13 sites and two compressor stations.
The plant itself will consist of five LNG trains, three storage tanks with the capacity to hold approximately 235,000-cbm of the chilled fuel and a marine loading facility.
The marine loading facility will consist of three berths for LNG carriers with cargo capacity ranging from 125,000-cbm to 216,000-cbm.
Tellurian expects to commence construction of Driftwood LNG in 2018 and produce LNG in 2022.
LNG World News Staff