Ferc Issues Draft EIS for Port Arthur LNG

Staff of the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc) said September 28 it has prepared a draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the 13mn metric tons/year (mt/yr) Port Arthur Liquefaction Project in Texas, and will hold the draft EIS open for public comment until November 19, 2018.

The project, under development by Sempra LNG & Midstream, consists of two liquefaction trains, each rated at 6.73mn mt/yr, pipeline facilities in Texas and Louisiana to connect the liquefaction terminal to the US interstate gas transmission system, three LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of 160,000 m3, a new marine slip with two LNG vessel berths and an LNG transfer system and various other compression, metering and associated utility facilities.

In the draft EIS, Ferc staff concluded that approval of the project would have “some adverse environmental impact” but that mitigation measures would avoid or reduce to “less-than-significant levels” those impacts.

Under Ferc’s latest environmental schedule, a final EIS for Port Arthur is to be released by the commission by January 31, 2019, while final authorisations from Ferc and other federal agencies are due by May 1, 2019.

Sempra LNG & Midstream anticipates making a final investment decision in 2019, leading to first LNG production in 2023.