Houston, 11 May (Argus) — Golden Pass LNG exported its second cargo on 9 May as it ramps up the 18.1mn t/yr (2.4bn ft³/d) export terminal in southeast Texas.
The ExxonMobil-operated 174,000m³ HL Sea Eagle left the facility on 9 May with a 76,000t cargo bound for Asia, 17 days after the QatarEnergy-operated Al Qaiyyah departed with the first export, Kpler ship-tracking data show.
The Al Qaiyyah arrived on 8 May at Belgium’s 12.4mn t/yr Zeebrugge import terminal, where QatarEnergy holds long-term regasification capacity.
A commissioning terminal’s second export is often more indicative of production rates than the first because the first shipment typically includes a partial re-export of the facility’s imported cool-down cargo.
Golden Pass, a joint venture between QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil, also received a record 412mn ft³ of feedgas on 8 May, pipeline data show, equal to roughly half of train 1’s capacity. Flows have since retreated slightly, averaging 365mn ft³/d over the weekend. The terminal was nominated to receive 250mn ft³ on 11 May, but shippers can revise pipeline nominations throughout the day.
ExxonMobil said the project is targeting “mechanical completion” of the second of three trains in the fourth quarter, with the final train due to be mechanically complete by the second quarter of next year. The company did not give a timeframe for when it expects first production or exports from the terminal’s remaining trains but said in 2024 that each train would come into service in six-month intervals.
By Tray Swanson
