The Department of Energy has granted an approval for Qatar Petroleum’s Golden Pass project to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the United States.
Golden Pass has been authorized to export LNG up to the equivalent of 2.21 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas from the Golden Pass terminal near Sabine Pass, in Texas.
The Golden Pass joint venture, owned by Qatar Petroleum (70 percent) and ExxonMobil (30 percent) proposed to build and operate three liquefaction trains with a total production capacity sufficient to produce 15.6 million tons per annum at the at the existing import terminal onshore at the Sabine-Neches waterway, on the existing Port Arthur ship channel.
The permit has been granted for a period of 20 years, as DOE determined these exports are “not inconsistent with the public interest.”
With the increase in domestic natural gas production, the United States is transitioning to become a net exporter of natural gas. The Department of Energy has authorized a total of 19.2 Bcf/d of natural gas exports to non-FTA countries from planned facilities in Texas, Louisiana, Florida, Georgia, and Maryland.
Commenting on the approval, U.S. secretary of energy Rick Perry said it is the part of the Trump administration’s effort to make the US an energy force and boost to the country’s economy while providing energy security to other countries.