Coastal Bend LNG Enters Permitting Phase

Coastal Bend LNG LLC has requested the United States Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin a pre-filing review of the Texas project, thereby initiating the formal permitting process.

"This milestone follows the completion of initial engineering and environmental studies and marks the transition into the regulatory review phase", Coastal Bend said in an online statement.

Coastal Bend expects to file its formal application with FERC next year, the statement said. Under Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act, proposed LNG terminals must obtain authorization for siting, construction, expansion and operation from FERC.

According to a timeline on Coastal Bend LNG's website, the Houston, Texas-based developer expects FERC's final decision in 2028, after which construction would begin. The timeline expects inaugural LNG production in 2031.

Chief commercial officer Keith Shoemaker said the project is "seeing strong interest from global off-takers".

The Gulf Coast project is planned to consist of four liquefaction trains, each with a capacity of 4.8 million metric tons per annum.

"A key differentiator of the project is its integrated carbon capture and storage capabilities, aimed at producing some of the lowest-carbon intensity LNG in the world", Coastal Bend said.

Early this year Coastal Bend announced a front-end engineering design contract that will use ConocoPhillips' Optimized Cascade Process. The contract has gone to KBR Inc and Técnicas Reunidas.

"Upon positive final investment decision, KBR and Técnicas Reunidas will proceed to execute the engineering, procurement and construction phase of the project", Coastal Bend said in a press release January 12.

According to ConocoPhillips, the process, a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries, deploys proprietary technology that efficiently liquefies gas while separately recovering heavier hydrocarbons and removing nitrogen.

"The raw gas is first treated to remove carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide and other sulfur compounds, water, organometallic mercury compounds, particulates and other contaminants before it is routed to the liquefaction section of the plant", ConcoPhillips says on its website. "The treated gas is then chilled and condensed to approximately -162°C in successively colder heat exchangers, using pure propane, ethylene and methane as refrigerants.

"The LNG product is then pumped into insulated storage tanks where it remains until shipment. Boil-off gas and ship return vapors are captured and recycled through the Optimized Cascade process for efficient reliquefaction".

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