Tellurian’s Chief Executive Officer Meg Gentle during an investor presentation on June 16 said that the construction of the company’s proposed Driftwood LNG export terminal in Louisiana would be delayed until next year. With such deferral, the production at the facility is expected to start by the end of 2024, from the initial target of late 2023. Gentle noted that the plant might reach full operation rates by 2026 or 2027.
About half of Driftwood’s 27.6 million tons/year full capacity will be used by Tellurian’s equity investment partners. However, Tellurian appears to be unable to sign a final deal with India’s Petronet after their preliminary agreement expired in May. This leaves only France’s Total, which has committed a $500 million investment in the project. According to Gentle, Tellurian plans to continue the search for deals with potential partners in the first half of 2021 that will allow the company to secure financing and start construction.
Gentle also suggested that Tellurian might abandon a proposed $4.2-billion Permian Global Access Pipeline due to reduced drilling activity in the Permian Basin. The pipeline is aimed to transport gas from West Texas to Louisiana to Driftwood’s first phase units. Tellurian is reviewing the economics of the pipeline and has made no final decisions on the project.
