Tellurian shares rise on US permit extension to construct LNG plant
HOUSTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Tellurian Inc TELL.A on Thursday won a three-year permit extension to complete construction of its Driftwood LNG export plant, a boost for the long-delayed liquefied natural gas project.
Shares rose 15% on the news, to about 81 cents apiece, rebounding from 36 cents apiece earlier this month.
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The company has spent years and hundreds of millions of dollars trying to finance and build a 27.6 million metric ton per annum (mtpa) LNG terminal near Lake Charles, Louisiana. Last week, it put its natural gas production operations on the block to help raise cash to salvage the project.
Tellurian had warned investors last fall that continued operating losses and dwindling cash reserves might not last a year given operating and debt costs. The going-concern warning preceded its ouster of Chairman Charif Souki.
Thursday's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permit extension gives the company to April 2029 to complete the ongoing construction.
Driftwood has an existing Department of Energy permit to export the proposed plant's superchilled gas to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the U.S.