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Released November 10, 2025 | SUGAR LAND
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Written by Eric Funderburk for Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land Texas)
However, as the U.S. LNG market boomed and brought about one of the most significant changes experienced in U.S. and global energy trends, Energy Transfer' Lake Charles LNG project never got off the ground. FERC authorized the plant's construction in late 2015, which was followed in 2016 by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) authorization to export LNG to countries without a U.S. free trade agreement (non-FTA countries). Shell (London, England) became a partner in the project in 2016, only to withdraw in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused energy prices to plummet.
But during this time, Energy Transfer continued to apply for construction and export extensions. FERC granted construction extensions in 2019 and 2022, with the most recent coming in May this year, pushing the plant's in-service deadline to the end of 2031. Similarly, in August, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) pushed back the deadline to commence non-FTA exports until the end of 2031.
Throughout this time, the idea of a pending final investment decision (FID) for the project has been floated, but an FID for the proposed three-train, 16.5 million-ton-per-annum (MTPA) plant may still be some ways off.
Last week, company executives said in a post-earnings call that Energy Transfer would not proceed with an FID until 80% of the project has been sold to equity partners. "Our projects need to meet certain risk-return criteria, and we're not there yet on LNG," co-Chief Executive Officer Tom Long said in the call, as reported by Reuters. "We are hoping that these equity partners will step up by the end of the year and get us to where we want this kind of risk profile, in the space we want this project."
The company has gained at least one partner, although in a non-binding agreement. In April, MidOcean Energy (Washington, D.C.) signed a heads of agreement (HOA) committing to fund 30% of the project's construction costs and receive 30% of the plant's output (about 5 MTPA).
But executives said they intended to be very stringent about the company holding no more than a 20% stake in the project. Whether the company's agreement with MidOcean can perhaps be made into a larger agreement with more binding terms remains to be seen, as does how the company will fare in gaining other equity partners, despite Long saying that the company is "in discussions with other parties" in addition to MidOcean. Whether those partners can be gained in time to construct the plant and commence exports by the newly issued 2031 deadlines remains to be seen.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
In March this year, the DOE granted an extension to commence exports to non-FTA countries from an already passed June 1, 2024, to June 1, 2029. Since that time, Delfin has applied for a further two-extension, allowing exports to commence by the end of 2031. However, Delfin may be moving along with the project faster than it was expecting.
Late last month, the company announced that it intended to make an FID on the first FLNG vessel in November and backed this up by awarding Samsung Heavy Industries (Seongnam, South Korea) the contract for the unit's engineering, procurement and construction (EPC).
But last week, another significant milestone was achieved for the project when Delfin made a deal with International Resources Holding (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) to purchase 1 MTPA of LNG, with Swiss commodities trader Vitol (Geneva) acting as a middleman. Following the announcement of the contract, Delfin Chief Executive Dudley Poston emphasized an FID would be made in "the coming weeks," and with such significant recent movement, a decision to move forward with the project could easily come by the end of this month.
Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
The Commonwealth project was the first LNG project to receive export approval from the DOE under the second Trump administration, a move greeted with great fanfare in February. In August, FERC issued authorization to construct the plant by late 2027. The only problem? That timeline was a bit too speedy for Commonwealth. In October, the company applied to FERC to extend the construction deadline for the 9.5-MTPA facility until the end of 2031. Pointing to the Biden administration's pause on U.S. LNG plant construction and exports, Commonwealth made the case that it had a bit of catching up to do with the project. FERC granted the 2031 extension in late October.
Throughout this time, Commonwealth has said it was targeting an FID by the end of this year. However, between Commonwealth's application for a construction extension from FERC and the agency's granting it, a Louisiana judge issued a ruling that sent the project back into the environmental review process, seriously hindering an FID by the end of 2025.
In mid-October, a Cameron Parish district court judge vacated the coastal-use permit issued by the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR), stating the agency failed to fully consider the environmental impacts both to vulnerable communities in the area as well as its cumulative impacts with nearby LNG export facilities. Commonwealth's proposed site is within a few miles of Venture Global LNG's (Arlington, Virginia) Calcasieu Pass and CP2 facilities. (See plant profiles.)
The decision mandates that the LDENR perform a new environmental review, effectively suspending state permits and stopping construction until the new study is completed. With less than two months remaining in 2025, an end-of-year construction decision on Commonwealth's part appears increasingly unlikely, as the new environmental results stand to significantly shift the project's parameters and that construction extension may be even more appreciated.
Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Key Takeaways
About Industrial Info Resources
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).
Summary
As Energy Transfer holds out for equity partners for its Lake Charles LNG project, Delfin LNG made a key sales agreement, advancing the possibility of an FID on its delayed LNG project, while Commonwealth LNG has been granted a construction extension for its Louisiana plant as it faces a revoked state environmental permit.Changing LNG Timelines
In late October and early November, some movement and announcements have been made regarding three U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) that have all been granted extensions to construction dates or export commencements by the federal government.Energy Transfer's Lake Charles LNG Project
Energy Transfer's (Dallas, Texas) Lake Charles LNG project in Louisiana has been around since the earliest days of U.S. liquefied natural gas production. The company applied to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for permission to construct the plant in 2012. That was the year that Cheniere Energy (Houston, Texas) made its final investment decision on the Sabine Pass LNG plant in Louisiana--the first LNG-export plant in the Lower 48 states and currently the U.S.' largest LNG producer.However, as the U.S. LNG market boomed and brought about one of the most significant changes experienced in U.S. and global energy trends, Energy Transfer' Lake Charles LNG project never got off the ground. FERC authorized the plant's construction in late 2015, which was followed in 2016 by the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) authorization to export LNG to countries without a U.S. free trade agreement (non-FTA countries). Shell (London, England) became a partner in the project in 2016, only to withdraw in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic caused energy prices to plummet.
But during this time, Energy Transfer continued to apply for construction and export extensions. FERC granted construction extensions in 2019 and 2022, with the most recent coming in May this year, pushing the plant's in-service deadline to the end of 2031. Similarly, in August, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) pushed back the deadline to commence non-FTA exports until the end of 2031.
Throughout this time, the idea of a pending final investment decision (FID) for the project has been floated, but an FID for the proposed three-train, 16.5 million-ton-per-annum (MTPA) plant may still be some ways off.
Last week, company executives said in a post-earnings call that Energy Transfer would not proceed with an FID until 80% of the project has been sold to equity partners. "Our projects need to meet certain risk-return criteria, and we're not there yet on LNG," co-Chief Executive Officer Tom Long said in the call, as reported by Reuters. "We are hoping that these equity partners will step up by the end of the year and get us to where we want this kind of risk profile, in the space we want this project."
The company has gained at least one partner, although in a non-binding agreement. In April, MidOcean Energy (Washington, D.C.) signed a heads of agreement (HOA) committing to fund 30% of the project's construction costs and receive 30% of the plant's output (about 5 MTPA).
But executives said they intended to be very stringent about the company holding no more than a 20% stake in the project. Whether the company's agreement with MidOcean can perhaps be made into a larger agreement with more binding terms remains to be seen, as does how the company will fare in gaining other equity partners, despite Long saying that the company is "in discussions with other parties" in addition to MidOcean. Whether those partners can be gained in time to construct the plant and commence exports by the newly issued 2031 deadlines remains to be seen.
Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Production Project Database can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Delfin LNG
Delfin LNG (Houston) is developing a floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) plant off the Louisiana coast. The entire project eventually could encompass four FLNG vessels, resulting in 13.3 MTPA of production, but Delfin is still focusing on the timeline for the first plant and its approximately 3-MTPA capacity--and a decision on its construction appears just around the corner.In March this year, the DOE granted an extension to commence exports to non-FTA countries from an already passed June 1, 2024, to June 1, 2029. Since that time, Delfin has applied for a further two-extension, allowing exports to commence by the end of 2031. However, Delfin may be moving along with the project faster than it was expecting.
Late last month, the company announced that it intended to make an FID on the first FLNG vessel in November and backed this up by awarding Samsung Heavy Industries (Seongnam, South Korea) the contract for the unit's engineering, procurement and construction (EPC).
But last week, another significant milestone was achieved for the project when Delfin made a deal with International Resources Holding (Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates) to purchase 1 MTPA of LNG, with Swiss commodities trader Vitol (Geneva) acting as a middleman. Following the announcement of the contract, Delfin Chief Executive Dudley Poston emphasized an FID would be made in "the coming weeks," and with such significant recent movement, a decision to move forward with the project could easily come by the end of this month.
Subscribers can click here to learn more about the project.
Commonwealth LNG
Commonwealth LNG's (Houston) planned LNG project in Louisiana has made some significant headway this year--perhaps a little too fast, as the company's post-approval requests suggest--but new headwinds to the project's development were introduced late month when a state environmental permit was vacated.The Commonwealth project was the first LNG project to receive export approval from the DOE under the second Trump administration, a move greeted with great fanfare in February. In August, FERC issued authorization to construct the plant by late 2027. The only problem? That timeline was a bit too speedy for Commonwealth. In October, the company applied to FERC to extend the construction deadline for the 9.5-MTPA facility until the end of 2031. Pointing to the Biden administration's pause on U.S. LNG plant construction and exports, Commonwealth made the case that it had a bit of catching up to do with the project. FERC granted the 2031 extension in late October.
Throughout this time, Commonwealth has said it was targeting an FID by the end of this year. However, between Commonwealth's application for a construction extension from FERC and the agency's granting it, a Louisiana judge issued a ruling that sent the project back into the environmental review process, seriously hindering an FID by the end of 2025.
In mid-October, a Cameron Parish district court judge vacated the coastal-use permit issued by the Louisiana Department of Energy and Natural Resources (LDENR), stating the agency failed to fully consider the environmental impacts both to vulnerable communities in the area as well as its cumulative impacts with nearby LNG export facilities. Commonwealth's proposed site is within a few miles of Venture Global LNG's (Arlington, Virginia) Calcasieu Pass and CP2 facilities. (See plant profiles.)
The decision mandates that the LDENR perform a new environmental review, effectively suspending state permits and stopping construction until the new study is completed. With less than two months remaining in 2025, an end-of-year construction decision on Commonwealth's part appears increasingly unlikely, as the new environmental results stand to significantly shift the project's parameters and that construction extension may be even more appreciated.
Subscribers can learn more by viewing the related project reports.
Key Takeaways
- Delfin LNG has appointed an EPC contractor for its FLNG project and made a significant sales agreement last week, advancing the possibility of the plant's construction.
- Commonwealth LNG has been granted a delay in its construction timeline until 2031 by FERC, but a Louisiana district court revoked a key state environmental permit, which must now be reviewed and issued again.
About Industrial Info Resources
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).
