Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum are investing $10 billion in a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on Texas’s Gulf of Mexico coast. The investment will add liquefaction and export capabilities to the existing Golden Pass LNG Terminal in Sabine Pass.
Qatar Petroleum will invest more than $8 billion and ExxonMobil over $2 billion.
The deal was signed on Tuesday.
“Today’s agreement is the latest example of the vital partnership between the U.S. and Qatar – from American universities putting campuses in Qatar, to our strategic military relationship, and of course, our collaboration in the energy sector,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry.
“The Golden Pass project is proof that two of the world’s top energy producers can work together as allies to increase energy diversity, advance energy security, and support rather than subvert an open energy marketplace.”
Construction is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2019 and it is expected to begin operating in 2024.
The facility will have the capacity to produce around 16 million tons of LNG per year.
The project is expected to create around 9,000 jobs during its five year construction period and over 200 permanent jobs during operations. It is projected to generate up to $31 billion in U.S. economic gains and more than $4.6 billion in direct federal, state and local tax revenues over the life of the project.
Once complete, the Golden Pass will be the seventh large scale LNG export project in the US.
Darren Woods, Exxon’s CEO, said in a statement:
“Golden Pass will provide an increased, reliable, long-term supply of liquefied natural gas to global gas markets, stimulate local growth and create thousands of jobs.
“The extensive experience of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum provides the expertise, resources and financial strength needed to construct and operate an integrated liquefaction and export facility in the United States.”
President of Qatar Petroleum, H.E. Saad Al-Kaabi said:
“The Golden Pass LNG export project is not our first investment in the United States, and is certainly not going to be our last. It represents a significant part of the plans that Qatar Petroleum has announced to invest $20 billion in the U.S. energy sector, which we believe would bring great benefits for both the United States and the State of Qatar.
“The development of the Golden Pass LNG export facility enhances the depth and flexibility of our global LNG supply portfolio, and reinforces the position of the U.S. as a key contributor to meeting the world’s growing demand for LNG.”
Golden Pass awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contracts for the project to a joint venture of Chiyoda International Corporation, McDermott International Inc. and Zachry Group.
