Meridian LNG Holdings Corp. has signed up for 2 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of tolling capacity at the liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal being developed by Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd.’s (LNGL) Magnolia LNG LLC on the Calcasieu Ship in Lake Charles, LA.

Magnolia will provide liquefaction services to Meridian in return for monthly capacity payments. Meridian is responsible for procurement and delivery of feed gas to the plant and for arranging all shipping required to transport the LNG to customers.

Meridian intends to deliver the LNG to Port Meridian, its Hoegh LNG-operated floating regasification terminal under development in the United Kingdom, with the gas delivered to E.ON Global Commodities under a 20-year gas sales agreement executed last April (see Daily GPI, April 23).

“This agreement marks a critical step towards fulfilling our commitment to deliver up to 750 million standard cubic feet a day of natural gas to E.ON Global Commodities, for 20 years from 2019, via our UK Port Meridian terminal,” Meridian CEO Roger Whelan said of the tolling agreement with Magnolia.

The agreement between Meridian and Magnolia is for 20 years with a five-year extension option. The total volume is composed of 1.7 mtpa with a further 0.3 mtpa to be offered at Magnolia’s discretion. It is Magnolia’s first binding tolling agreement for the project and is conditioned upon financial closing of the terminal project, which is planned for first quarter of 2016. The project is on schedule to provide first LNG in December 2018 with full LNG supply of 8 mtpa completed in 2019, according to LNGL.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently released a draft environmental impact statement for the project (see Daily GPI, July 17).

Port Meridian is to consist of a floating storage and regasification unit, a subsea pipeline and onshore facilities connecting into the UK National Transmission System. All major construction permits and planning approvals for Port Meridian have been obtained. Gas deliveries are expected to begin in 2019.