Liquefied natural gas terminal developer Freeport LNG and Macquarie Bank have agreed to build an export plant in Texas to send US-produced gas overseas just as U.S. inventories hit record highs.
The plant, which would be able to export 1.4 billion cubic feet per day of gas by 2015, will cost about $2 billion and will be built on the site of Freeport LNG's existing import terminal, a spokeswoman for Macquarie told Reuters.
Freeport LNG will operate the plant, with Macquarie contributing to development costs.
Macquarie and Freeport plan to jointly market half of the export plant's capacity, with the other half being offered to Freeport's existing import customers Dow Chemical and Conocophillips .
The Freeport LNG plant is the second planned LNG export facility in the U.S. to be announced this year. In June, Cheniere Energy announced plans to build the first LNG export plant in 40 years on the site of its Sabine Pass import facility. Cheniere also plans to produce and export LNG by 2015.
The construction of LNG export facilities is an about-face for the U.S. natural gas market, where several import facilities were built in anticipation that the United States would become a major LNG importer in the coming decades.
Instead, a boom in unconventional gas production, including shale gas, has flooded the U.S. natural gas market with supply, while demand has flagged, pushing U.S natural gas inventories to a record high earlier this month.
The plant, which would be able to export 1.4 billion cubic feet per day of gas by 2015, will cost about $2 billion and will be built on the site of Freeport LNG's existing import terminal, a spokeswoman for Macquarie told Reuters.
Freeport LNG will operate the plant, with Macquarie contributing to development costs.
Macquarie and Freeport plan to jointly market half of the export plant's capacity, with the other half being offered to Freeport's existing import customers Dow Chemical and Conocophillips .
The Freeport LNG plant is the second planned LNG export facility in the U.S. to be announced this year. In June, Cheniere Energy announced plans to build the first LNG export plant in 40 years on the site of its Sabine Pass import facility. Cheniere also plans to produce and export LNG by 2015.
The construction of LNG export facilities is an about-face for the U.S. natural gas market, where several import facilities were built in anticipation that the United States would become a major LNG importer in the coming decades.
Instead, a boom in unconventional gas production, including shale gas, has flooded the U.S. natural gas market with supply, while demand has flagged, pushing U.S natural gas inventories to a record high earlier this month.
