The governing board of the Port of Brownsville, TX, has approved a lease option for 500 acres of port property for the potential development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and export facility by Gulf Coast LNG Export LLC.

Gulf Coast LNG’s application was filed with the United States Department of Energy (DOE) seeking authorization to export LNG out of a proposed facility located at the Port of Brownsville (see Daily GPI, Jan. 3). While authorization has not been granted by DOE yet, Gulf Coast LNG Export and Port officials are highly optimistic due to the significant demand for U.S. LNG and Gulf Coast’s sound business model, the port said.

“We believe the Port of Brownsville is in a strategic geographic location to assure the success of this project, and we envision this to be a long-term relationship with the Port,” said Michael Smith, principal owner and CEO of Gulf Coast LNG Export.

Smith is also CEO and founder of Freeport LNG Development LP. Freeport LNG owns and operates a 2 Bcf/d LNG receiving and regasification facility near Freeport, TX, and is planning to expand that facility to add liquefaction and export capability (see Daily GPI, Dec. 27, 2011).

The partnership between the Port of Brownsville and Gulf Coast LNG will include a multi-billion dollar direct investment by Gulf Coast LNG Export, of which the majority will go toward the development of a natural gas liquefaction facility and LNG export terminal located on Port property, in addition to infrastructure improvements necessary to support the business.

“The huge amount of natural gas reserves developed in the United States in recent years and the significant international demand for LNG will allow for the development of multiple LNG export terminals in the U.S.,” Smith said. “The United States is now believed to have more natural gas than it can use in a century.”

Once DOE export approval is secured for the project, Gulf Coast LNG will initiate the review process with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to receive authorization to site, construct, and operate the terminal at the port. The project is expected to be operational in 2018 and is forecasted to bring thousands of jobs during the construction phase and hundreds of jobs once the facility is operational, the port said.

“This project falls in line with our mission of bringing more quality jobs to the region, and it also allows us to continue to diversify the type of cargo handled at the Port, while opening up a new industry for us,” said Port CEO Eduardo A. Campirano.

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