
Kinder Morgan's LNG plant at Elba Island, Ga. (Source: Google Earth)
Kinder Morgan Inc. asked U.S. energy regulators this week for permission to put in service the 10th and final liquefaction train at its nearly $2 billion Elba Island LNG export plant in Georgia.
Kinder Morgan said Train 7 would be ready for service on Aug. 27, according to a filing late Aug. 20 with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).
Trains 1-6 and 8-10 were already available, with Train 1 entering service in October 2019 and Train 10 in August 2020.
Each train is capable of liquefying about 0.3 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG or 0.04 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas.
The company has said it expects all 10 trains at the plant to be ready for service by the end of the summer.
The first export cargo from Elba left in December. Elba, however, has not exported a cargo since January as government steps to reduce the spread of the novel coronavirus have sapped global energy demand.
Elba, which is 51% owned by units of Kinder Morgan and 49% by EIG Global Energy Partners, is designed to liquefy about 2.5 mtpa of LNG, equivalent to around 0.350 Bcf/d of natural gas.
Royal Dutch Shell Plc has a 20-year contract to use the facility.
Including projects under construction, U.S. LNG export capacity is expected to rise from 9.8 Bcf/d now to 10.5 Bcf/d by the end of 2021 and 12.5 Bcf/d by the end of 2022.
That keeps the United States on track to become the world’s biggest LNG exporter in 2024. It became the third-biggest exporter in 2019, behind Qatar and Australia.
Recommended Reading
USA Compression Names Chris Wauson as COO
2025-03-07 - Chris Wauson, currently the leader of natural gas compression company USA Compression Partners’ Permian office, has been chosen as the company’s new COO.
Transocean President, COO to Assume CEO Position in 2Q25
2025-02-19 - Transocean Ltd. announced a CEO succession plan on Feb. 18 in which President and COO Keelan Adamson will take the reins of the company as its chief executive in the second quarter of 2025.
Williams Cos. COO Dunn to Retire
2025-03-13 - Williams Cos. COO Micheal Dunn was crediting with helping the company focus on a natural gas strategy.
Phillips 66 Urges Shareholders to Vote Against Elliott at Annual Meeting
2025-04-08 - Phillips 66’s board of directors is again pushing against one of its largest investors—Elliott Investment Management—with a letter to shareholders detailing how to vote against the investment company at its upcoming annual meeting.
Matador Appoints Paul W. Harvey to Board
2025-01-29 - Harvey holds over 40 years of investment experience and is currently the private wealth adviser at Dallas-based Vaquero Private Wealth.