ST LNG has filed an application with the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) to construct a new deepwater port for exporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) off the coast of Texas. The application has been deemed complete enough to begin processing and will be officially published in the Federal Register on July 7.
The project will be implemented under the 1974 Deepwater Port Act, which requires public hearings within 240 days and a final decision on the application within 90 days after the hearings conclude.
ST LNG is led by entrepreneur Sharad Thakkar, the company’s CEO, while its president is Alap Shah, who previously led FLNG project development at New Fortress Energy and was involved in implementing the FAST LNG program as well as the Golar Hilli and Golar Gimi FLNG projects.
The new terminal is planned to be located 10.4 nautical miles off the coast of Matagorda, Texas, at a depth of 65–72 feet. Once completed, the port will feature four liquefaction trains with a capacity of 2.1 million tonnes per year each, providing a total export capacity of up to 8.4 million tonnes of LNG annually. The LNG will be loaded onto carriers with capacities ranging from 125,000 to 180,000 cubic meters.
The project envisions the construction of both fixed and floating infrastructure: a 5.5-mile, 30-inch pipeline, four liquefaction platforms, four gas processing platforms, four LNG offloading platforms, four living quarters platforms, and repurposed LNG carriers for storage.
Project implementation is divided into four phases. The first phase will include the construction of three major platforms, one LNG offloading platform, nine mooring piles, one floating storage unit (FSU), and connecting pipelines, with an expected production capacity of 2.1 million tonnes of LNG per year.
ST LNG emphasizes that most of the work will be carried out within the United States, creating new jobs and ensuring competitive project costs.
Amid strong support for the energy sector from the Trump administration and the rapid expansion of the U.S. LNG export business, growing demand for liquefied natural gas is driving the development of new projects along the Gulf Coast, including
