Texas Company Chooses Liquefaction Technology for Lower-Carbon LNG Production

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--A liquefied natural gas (LNG) production plant planned for the Texas Gulf Coast moved a bit closer to development this week when its owners picked a liquefaction technology to use at the facility.

Coastal Bend LNG (Houston, Texas) announced that it will use ConocoPhillips' (Houston) Optimized Cascade Process liquefaction technology to eventually produce up to 22.5 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG. Coastal Bend is planning to construct up to five trains at the plant, each with a production capacity of 4.5 MTPA. The company plans to begin its pre-filing process for the plant's construction with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) later this year, although it has not indicated when it expects to apply to the Department of Energy (DOE) for permission to export the liquefied fuel to countries without a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Project Database indicates that construction of the first train could begin as early as 2027, putting it on track to begin production in the early 2030s. Other trains would follow, with the planned fifth and final train potentially built by 2035 should construction proceed smoothly. Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Production Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.

Industrial Info has deemed this project as having a low probability (0-69%) of moving forward as planned, but U.S. President Donald Trump's goal of "energy dominance" for the nation has brought a sea change to the country's LNG permitting process. While previous president Joe Biden's administration paused the DOE's permitting of LNG exports to non-FTA countries, Trump early in his second administration lifted this pause on permitting and encouraged the agency to issue permits as expeditiously as possible. At least three major U.S. LNG projects have received export permits since Trump returned to office this year, including:

• Commonwealth LNG's (Houston) up-to-9.5-MTPA project in Louisiana (see project reports).
• The 13.5-MTPA Phase II (trains 3 and 4) of Sempra Energy's (San Diego, California) Port Arthur LNG project in Texas (see project reports.)
• Venture Global LNG's (Arlington, Virginia) "at least" 20-MTPA CP2 facility in Louisiana, although this permission is conditional and expected to be finalized in the coming months (see project reports).

ConocoPhillips' Optimized Cascade Process technology for Coastal Bend has a higher thermal efficiency and lower emissions than other available technologies, according to the company. Coastal Bend's goal for its LNG plant is to produce a lower-emissions product, and to this end, it plans to install carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology on both the liquefaction and cogeneration units. "ConocoPhillips' technology and expertise provides us with the confidence that the Optimized Cascade Process will deliver world-class LNG facility performance while mitigating greenhouse gas emissions," Coastal Bend LNG Chief Executive Officer Nick Flores said in a statement.

This lower-carbon product could prove popular with the U.S.' current largest LNG customer, Europe, where emissions are carefully considered in decisions regarding energy. The European Union (EU) has previously expressed concerns about the emissions footprint of U.S. LNG, particularly in regard to methane emissions occurring across the entire LNG lifecycle, from gathering natural gas to final LNG consumption. U.S. LNG has gained critical importance to the EU's energy needs as the bloc seeks to wean itself from piped Russian gas.

A study from earlier this year conducted by Wood Mackenzie estimated that U.S. LNG consumed in Europe delivered emissions equating to about 48% of the coal equivalent. While Coastal Bend's choice of a lower-emissions production process can't reduce emissions from the initial gathering, processing and transport phases, its use of the ConocoPhillips process could gain sales in the EU from customers seeking to reduce their environmental impact across the value chain. The technology, along with the accompanying CCS units on the production and cogeneration units, in theory could ease permitting on the U.S. side as well, although concerns about emissions and environmental impact appear to be less of a priority under the second Trump administration than they have been in prior years.

With U.S. LNG projects expected to develop at a much more rapid pace in the coming years, Coastal Bend's reduced environmental impact potentially could help gain customers for its product and possibly allow the company establish a higher price, although market demand for a cleaner product ultimately would determine this.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking over 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).