FERC staff issued a favorable final environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Lake Charles Liquefaction Project proposed by Trunkline Gas Co. LLC, Lake Charles LNG Co. LLC and Lake Charles LNG Export Co. LLC.

The project entails adding liquefaction and export capability to an existing import terminal in Lake Charles, LA, which is in Calcasieu Parish, as well as modifications to existing pipeline facilities in Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi. The new liquefaction facilities would have design capacity of 16.45 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), providing export capacity equivalent to about 2 Bcf/d of natural gas.

The Trunkline companies are units of Energy Transfer Equity LP and Energy Transfer Partners LP (collectively, Energy Transfer). The liquefaction project would make the terminal bi-directional, with the ability to receive and regasify LNG, and liquefy domestic gas for export. Energy Transfer would own and finance the facility, and BG Group plc is to be responsible for the offtake. BG would also select the engineering, procurement and construction contractor, and manage construction. Upon completion, BG would operate the facility under a long-term agreement with Energy Transfer while Trunkline Gas Co. would provide pipeline transportation services to supply gas to the facility.

The project was filed at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission last year (see Daily GPI, March 26, 2014). A favorable draft EIS was issued in April (see Daily GPI, April 10).

“We determined that construction and operation of the project would result in adverse environmental impacts, but most impacts would be reduced to less-than-significant levels,” FERC staff said [CP14-119].