Freeport Lng. Development L.P.
333 Clay Street , Suite 5050 , Houston, Texas, United States

The shale gas revolution in the late 2000s marked a turning point in the U.S. oil and gas industry. For Freeport LNG, it meant taking our business in a new direction: transforming an import terminal into a natural gas liquefaction and liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility.  Now, we are on our way to becoming one of the first and largest U.S. exporters of LNG.

A Bright Future. The shale gas revolution opened up the possibility for the U.S. to gain a prominent position in the international energy markets. With access to an abundance of domestic reserves, Freeport LNG began to develop the liquefaction project in 2010. After securing world-class customers and closing financing, construction started in late 2014. The first three production units (or trains) will add approximately 15 million metric tonnes per year (mtpa) of nominal liquefaction capacity to the Quintana Island terminal facilities. An additional LNG train (Train 4) is under development.

Good Business Inside and Out.  Good business isnt only about economics; it is also about the positive impacts on people and society. Internally, our values continue to shape our success.  We place value on being accessible to colleagues at every level of the organization. Externally, this applies to fostering relations with our customers, to our community involvement and to our environmental stewardship.

What Does Freeport LNG Mean to the U.S. and the World?

• Job creation
• Economic growth
• Improvement in U.S. foreign trade imbalance
• Global environmental benefits

History of Freeport LNG in Brief

Freeport LNG Development, L.P. is constructing a natural gas liquefaction and LNG export facility on Quintana Island near Freeport, Texas, about 70 miles south of Houston.     The company was founded back in 2002 with a different objective: to design, build and operate an LNG import and regasification terminal. When the facility was completed in June 2008, it featured two 160,000 cubic meter LNG storage tanks, an LNG vaporization system capable of delivering over 2 Bcf of gas a day into the domestic pipeline grid and a marine dock that could accommodate the largest LNG tankers in service. As part of the regasification system, Freeport LNG developed the environmentally friendly VE air tower that extracted heat from the air instead of burning natural ga for LNG regasification.  In 2005, when construction of the import terminal started, a major increase in U.S. LNG imports was projected due to what was then widely recognized as rapidly decreasing reserves of traditional gas.  However, after June 2008, when the terminal was completed, the North American natural gas industry began experiencing a sea change—the shale gas revolution.  Today, natural gas resource estimates by the DOEs Energy Information Administration and private analysts indicate that the U.S. has sufficient natural gas supplies for more than one hundred years. By 2010, it was obvious that the U.S. gas market itself should become a source for LNG exports, without the danger of significantly impacting the price or availability of natural gas supplies to U.S. consumers. That was also the year when Freeport LNG launched its natural gas liquefaction and LNG export project.  After its completion in 2019, the three-train facility will produce and export some 15 mtpa of LNG, with production units starting sequentially between Q4 2019 (Train 1) and Q3 2020 (Train 3). In the meantime, Freeport LNG is planning to add a fourth liquefaction unit to the three already under construction. This expansion will allow for the export of an additional five million tons of LNG per year, increasing the total export capability of the project to over 20 mtpa of LNG.

Entrepreneurship and Business Acumen

In the early 2000s, Freeport LNG was founded through entrepreneurial spirit and keen business sense. When the concept of our organization as an LNG import facility began to take shape in 2002, we did not expect that, years later, a 180-degree shift in U.S. natural gas supply would position us to lead the future of U.S. LNG exports as well. We are quick to rise to the challenge. Despite an abrupt market turn, our entrepreneurial, yet conservative business model allowed us to maintain economic stability while many in the industry struggled.  Enter opportunity—the shale gas revolution. Current estimates indicate that the U.S. has sufficient natural gas supplies for over one hundred years. Thats where we come in: the place where know-how and perseverance meet opportunity.

Pioneering the Future of U.S. Gas Exports to the World

  Gas Liquefaction and LNG Exports: After attracting some of the industrys best customers and structuring landmark project-finance transactions, we began construction of three liquefaction trains on Quintana Island in November 2014. At this site, and at the gas pretreatment facility site three miles away on the mainland, we have been doing our utmost to uphold the highest safety standards during construction while minimizing potential impacts on surrounding communities and the environment.

Here are some of the many examples of the projects impact:

• Almost $14.0 billion of investment
• Approximately 200 new permanent jobs at liquefaction project facilities
• Thousands of construction jobs over a four- to five-year construction period
• Around 30,000 new jobs across the U.S. through increased natural gas exploration, drilling and production, plus incremental expenditures for goods and services in other industries
• Economic benefits (increased economic activity and export gains) for the U.S. between $5 billion and $7 billion per year
• Stimulation of domestic gas production and utilization of a resource that would otherwise remain in the ground
• Significant improvement in U.S. trade imbalance