Qatar Petroleum, Exxon Mobil to build $10 bn LNG plant in Texas

NEW YORK: Qatar Petroleum and Exxon Mobil announced Tuesday a final decision to build a natural gas export facility in Texas, giving the official green light to a long-discussed project.

According to the statement, $10 billion worth The Golden Pass project in Sabine Pass is scheduled to begin construction in the first quarter of 2019,   adding that  a conversion of a site originally built as a gas import facility, is intended to come on stream in 2024, exporting 16m tonnes of LNG a year.

It is owned 70 per cent by Qatar Petroleum and 30 per cent by Exxon, extending a longstanding partnership between the two companies that includes co-operation on giant LNG export projects in Qatar.

The project would create about 9,000 jobs during the construction phase and 200 permanent jobs,said  Exxon Mobil  in a news release.

The venture is the latest to underscore the shifting complexion of US energy in the wake of a shale boom that has prompted companies to pivot from building facilities to import liquefied natural gas (LNG) to exporting the fuel.

Qatar Petroleum Chief Executive Saad al-Kaabi, who also serves as Energy Minister for the Middle Eastern country, was reported to have said that The Golden Pass project "enhances the depth and flexibility of our global LNG supply portfolio, and reinforces the position of the US as a key contributor to meeting the world´s growing demand for LNG," 

Kaabi participated in a ceremony with US Energy Secretary Rick Perry and Darren Woods, chief executive of Exxon Mobil, which holds 30 percent of the project.