The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced that it has authorized Golden Pass project to export domestically produced LNG to countries that do not have a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US as it is allowed to export LNG up to the equivalent of 2.21 BCF/D of natural gas to any non-FTA country, for a period of 20 years.
Golden Pass LNG project’s shareholders, Qatar Petroleum 70% and ExxonMobil 30%, plan to build a 15.6 MMT/Y LNG export facility in side of their existing LNG imports terminal in Jefferson County, Texas from the first quarter of 2021.
Golden Pass estimates that the construction of its facility will provide 45,000 direct and indirect jobs over five years, and the project will provide 3,800 direct and indirect permanent jobs over the next 25 years of operational activity.
With the dramatic increase in domestic natural gas production, the US is transitioning to become a net exporter of natural gas, DOE said, adding that it has authorized a total of 19.2 BCF/D of natural gas exports to non-FTA countries from the country’s planned and under-construction LNG export facilities so far and plans to increase these volumes to 28 BCF/D. “These projects, if built, would position the United States to be the dominant LNG exporter in the world.”
Increased natural gas production in the US is expected to continue, with the country’s EIA has projected an average dry natural gas production rate of 73.1 BCF/D in 2017, the second highest on record.
Updates:

On 28 Nov. 2017, Qatar's former minister of energy Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah said that Golden Pass export project could be brought on line as early as 2023.


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