Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum announced a final decision to finance a $10 billion-plus project to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Texas Gulf Coast.
Construction of the Golden Pass LNG export project located in Sabine Pass will begin in the first quarter of 2019 and the facility is expected to start up in 2024, said a press release.
“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,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation.
“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,” he said.
The $10+ billion liquefaction project will have capacity to produce around 16 million tons of LNG per year. It is expected to create about 9,000 jobs over the five-year construction period and more than 200 permanent jobs during operations.
Preliminary estimates by an independent study indicate the project could 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.
Golden Pass is part of ExxonMobil’s plans to invest more than $50 billion over the next five years to build and expand manufacturing facilities in the U.S. This includes the Growing the Gulf initiative, which will create about 45,000 jobs in America.
Working interests in the Golden Pass LNG export project are 70 percent Qatar Petroleum and 30 percent ExxonMobil. This project builds upon the successful international relationship between ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum, with Qatar Petroleum joining ExxonMobil in exploration and development activities in Argentina, Brazil and Mozambique.