FERC approves Kinder Morgan’s $2bn Elba liquefaction project in US

Kinder Morgan’s subsidiaries Elba Liquefaction (ELC) and Southern LNG (SLNG) have received authorisation from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the US for the $2bn Elba liquefaction project.

The project is set to be constructed and operated at the existing Elba Island LNG terminal near Savannah, Georgia.

The first of ten liquefaction units is expected to come online in the second quarter of 2018.

Kinder Morgan said that the remaining nine units will be put in service before the end of 2018.

Elba is expected to have a total capacity of about 2.5 million tonnes per year of LNG for export and is supported by a contract with Shell for a period of 20 years.

The FERC also granted Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity to other KMI’s subsidiaries Elba Express (EEC) and Southern Natural Gas (SNG) for the EEC modification project and SNG Zone 3 expansion project respectively.

The $306m projects will include additional compression and related work for north-to-south capacity expansions on Elba Express pipeline.

Additional gas is planned to be supplied by Elba Express to industrials and utilities in Georgia and Florida and to Elba Island for liquefaction.

Facilities for these pipeline projects are expected to come on line in the fourth quarter this year.

The Elba liquefaction project secured the department of energy authorisation in 2012 to export to free trade agreement (FTA) countries.

The project was initially announced in January 2013 by Southern Liquefaction Company, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan.