Texas Business reports: THE WOODLANDS— Excelerate Energy LP. is moving forward with the development of the first floating liquefaction facility in the United States utilizing its floating liquefaction storage offloading vessel (FLSO) technology.

The Lavaca Bay LNG project will be located in Port Lavaca, situated between Galveston and Corpus Christi on the Texas Gulf Coast, and will be designed to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to markets worldwide by 2017.

Excelerate Energy's FLSO comprises 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of production capacity, 250,000 cubic meters (m3) of LNG storage, and a fully integrated gas processing plant. With this gas processing capability, the FLSO can accommodate a wide range of gas compositions at its inlet making it well suited for virtually any application near shore or offshore.

For those situations where gas processing is not required due to presence of existing processing facilities or where pipeline quality gas is used as the feedstock, the processing equipment can be removed and liquefaction capacity increased to 4 MTPA.

The FLSO will measure 338 meters in length, with a breadth of 62 meters. Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) is in an advanced phase and Excelerate is now entering into discussions with potential off takers and natural gas suppliers as well as investors and potential sources of finance to take the project forward. Excelerate Energy expects FEED to last until the end of 2012, and following its completion and successful permitting project delivery will take approximately 44 months from final investment decision (FID).

In its initial phase, the Lavaca Bay LNG project will consist of one permanently moored FLSO with multiple connections to the onshore natural gas grid in South Texas. The project will be designed with the potential for expansion and the addition of a second FLSO over time for a total production capacity of up to 8 MTPA. Excelerate Energy expects to begin the export authorization and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) permitting immediately, and is in the process of completing its site-specific final front-end engineering design (FEED) effort.

“Excelerate Energy applies the same philosophy to its liquefaction vessel design as it does to its regasification vessel fleet – essentially using proven technology in an innovative way to provide more efficient and timely solutions to the LNG industry,” said Excelerate chief executive Rob Bryngelson in a prepared statement. “Port Lavaca provides us with the unique opportunity to further capitalize on our position as a market leader in floating LNG solutions.”

Excelerate Energy selected Port Lavaca for the site of the facility because of its direct access to the highly liquid south Texas natural gas market, access to the Atlantic Basin through the Gulf of Mexico, and potential access to the Pacific basin with the widening of the Panama Canal. The facility will interconnect to the region's existing pipeline system in order to obtain natural gas and liquefy it onboard the vessel. The Port Lavaca location being developed by Excelerate Energy has previously received FERC approval as an LNG import facility, which should facilitate the permitting process.

Excelerate Energy LP is a developer of LNG transportation and regasification infrastructure, a provider of LNG storage and regasification services and an importer of LNG.