Golden Pass LNG (GPL) exported its first cargo on Wednesday, April 22. The Golden Pass terminal is jointly owned by ExxonMobil (30%) and QatarEnergy (70%) and is located on the Texas side of the Sabine River, just across from Cheniere's Sabine Pass which is on the Louisiana side. The terminal began producing LNG at the end of March and a tanker, QatarEnergy's Al Qa’iyyah (174,000 cubic meter capacity; pictured below), arrived on Monday to receive the inaugural cargo. The ship currently appears to be bound for Europe (Zeebrugge, Belgium), though its not uncommon for cargoes to be diverted en route.
According to LNG Voyager, intake at the terminal averaged 260 MMcf/d last week, down 90 MMcf/d week-on-week. The terminal’s feedgas intake has mostly hovered around 300-350 MMcf/d, less than half of the expected intake for Train 1. At full utilization, Train 1 is expected to require around 850 MMcf/d of feedgas and produce 6 MMtpa of LNG. Trains 2 and 3 are expected to come online over the rest of the year. For large-scale trains, like those at Golden Pass, there are typically three to nine months between each train’s start-up. When fully complete, the terminal, which began life as an import facility, will have a nameplate export capacity of 18 MMtpa (~2.4 Bcf/d) and become the U.S.'s third largest LNG producer, behind Sabine Pass and Plaquemines LNG.
The terminal receives gas off the 70-mile, 2.5 Bcf/d bi-directional Golden Pass Pipeline (GPPL). GPL is also the anchor shipper on Enable’s Gulf Run project, which began service in early 2023 and brings gas down from EGT’s CP line to the Starks and Gillis areas. GPL has 1.1 Bcf/d of the project’s 1.65 Bcf/d capacity. Additionally, Kinder Morgan’s Trident Pipeline, which is expected online in early 2027, runs from Katy Hub to the Port Arthur area of Texas, where Golden Pass is located. Golden Pass is an anchor shipper on the project, holding 1 Bcf/d of the pipeline’s 1.5 Bcf/d capacity.
