The developer of a natural gas export facility is asking FERC for prompt issuance of an order to approve the Houston-based company’s project, which would include the construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal on the Brownsville Ship Channel in Cameron County, TX.

Annova LNG filed in July 2016 for authorization to construct an LNG export terminal to include six liquefaction trains, each with a nameplate capacity of 1 million metric tons/year (mmty), for an aggregate nameplate capacity of 6 mmty and a maximum output at optimal operating conditions of 6.95 mmty [CP16-480].

Annova, a unit of Exelon Corp., said the project would meet the requirements of multiple foreign purchasers whose annual demand is best met with increments of 1 mmty. At the time, Annova asked that the Commission approve its application by March 30, 2018, in order to begin commercial operation of its first stage in the fourth quarter of 2021.

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff issued a positive final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the Annova LNG Brownsville project in April, according to Annova.

In a notice of schedule for environmental review released last year, FERC identified July 18, 2019, as the date for all federal action on Annova’s application.

“As the Commission recognizes, delay in action on pending permit applications can have significant and irreversible commercial implications for liquefied natural gas projects…Indeed, our potential customers and investors routinely cite delay in Commission action on the pending permit as a critical issue in their decision-making process on key commercial activity,” Annova said in a Sept. 20 letter to FERC.

The company said it has answered all information requests from FERC staff, and the project has been successfully reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Earlier this year, the Department of Energy opened for comment Annova’s application to export LNG worldwide from facilities on the tip of Texas near the Mexico border. The application is for 20-year, multi-contract authorization to export up to 6.95 mmty, slightly under 1 Bcf/d, from the proposed export facility.