Located in Georgia, the Elba Liquefaction project will feature 10 liquefaction units with a combined production capacity of 350mmcf per day of natural gas
Image: The Elba Liquefaction project will have 10 liquefaction units. Photo: courtesy of Kinder Morgan.
Kinder Morgan and EIG Global Energy Partners (EIG) have commissioned the first liquefaction unit of the Elba Liquefaction project, which is being built with an investment of around $2bn in Georgia, US.
The liquefaction project is located at the existing Elba Terminal, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal which imports and regasifies foreign-sourced LNG.
A total of 10 liquefaction units will make up the Elba Liquefaction project to produce LNG for exports.
Kinder Morgan natural gas south region president Norman Holmes said: “This is a great milestone that was achieved with an exemplary safety record.
“It is also an important step for the United States as the country becomes a key energy exporter.”
Elba Liquefaction project will be executed in two phases
The LNG export project is being executed in two phases, with the first phase to see installation of six liquefaction units to produce a combined 210 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day of LNG. The first phase of the project will also involve modifications to the Elba Terminal to enable exports of the commodity.
In the second phase, Kinder Morgan and EIG will install up to four liquefaction units with a combined capacity of 140MMcf per day. The project is being executed by Elba Liquefaction Company (ELC), a joint venture formed by the partners.
Once fully developed, the Elba Liquefaction project is likely to have a combined annual LNG export capacity of nearly 2.5 million tonnes, which is equivalent to about 350,00mcf per day of natural gas.
Kinder Morgan said that progress is being made on the other nine liquefaction units as well. The energy infrastructure company said that the second and third units are undergoing startup activities, while commissioning is in progress for units four to six.
Construction on the remaining three units of the Elba Liquefaction project has been mostly completed, said Kinder Morgan.
The Elba Liquefaction project is underpinned by a 20-year contract with Royal Dutch Shell, which subscribed to 100% of the liquefaction capacity.