Located on Quintana Island in Freeport, Texas, the Freeport LNG export project will have four liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of 20mtpa
Image: McDermott, Chiyoda and Zachry Group Announce First Cargo from Freeport LNG Train 1. Photo courtesy of McDermott International, Inc.
Freeport LNG Development has achieved shipping of the first LNG commissioning cargo for the first train of its Freeport LNG export project in Texas.
Nearly 150,000m3 of liquefied natural gas (LNG) were loaded from the Freeport LNG terminal on to the LNG Jurojin vessel, said the company.
The LNG export project, which will have four liquefaction trains, is located on Quintana Island in Freeport. Once fully developed, the Freeport LNG export project will have a total capacity of more than 20 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
First production from the first train was achieved in late August, which was the precursor of the first cargo from the LNG terminal.
The second liquefaction train is heading towards the pre-commissioning stage with a target to begin production in January 2020. On the other hand, the third train is on the verge of completion to enter into service in May 2020.
The fourth train of Freeport LNG export project, which was approved by the US Department of Energy (DOE) in May 2019, is scheduled to begin operations in 2023. KBR was appointed by the project’s holding company as the preferred bidder to provide the engineering, procurement, construction, and commissioning services for the fourth train.
Freeport LNG founder, chairman and CEO Michael Smith said: “This first cargo loading is another significant step that gets us one step closer towards our start of commercial operations which is anticipated later this month.
“We are very pleased that it took less than 45 days to load our first cargo since gas was first introduced to our liquefaction facilities.”
The engineering, procurement and facility construction along with commissioning and initial operations for the first three trains are being handled by Zachry Group, McDermott International, and Chiyoda.
The three trains will be supported by a second loading berth and a 165,000m3 full containment LNG storage tank, which are all being built near the existing Freeport LNG Regasification Terminal.
McDermott North, Central and South America senior vice president Mark Coscio said: “We continue to make great strides on the Freeport LNG project with the shipping of the first cargo from Train 1, which is a major milestone for the joint venture project team.
“Congratulations to everyone for their hard work and dedication in reaching this project achievement and for their strong focus on safety and quality throughout the project. For 2019 alone, the team worked more than 11 million work hours with no lost time incidents, an outstanding accomplishment.”