ST LNG details fixed-platform deepwater export terminal

The latest deepwater port licence application submitted to the US Maritime Administration (MARAD) sets out detailed plans for an up to 8.4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) offshore LNG export facility in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America), incorporating fixed and floating components.

These components would include a 5.5-mile, 30-inch pipeline lateral with a connection hub, four feeder lines to the connection hub, four gas treatment platforms, four liquefaction platforms, four accommodation and utility platforms, four LNG transfer platforms, thirty-six mooring dolphins, four converted LNG carriers, and three tugs.

According to the application, the ST LNG Deepwater Port Development Project will be located approximately 10.4 nautical miles (19.2 km) offshore Matagorda, Texas.

On completion, the project would involve four 2.1 mtpa liquefaction systems installed in the Brazos Outer Continental Shelf Lease Block 476 (BA-476).

The project would be completed in four phases. Phase 1 construction would include three large platforms (a gas treatment platform, an LNG liquefaction platform, and an accommodations and utility platform), one LNG transfer platform, nine mooring dolphins, one floating storage unit (FSU), and interconnected lateral pipelines.

Each phase would produce 2.1 mtpa of LNG.

The feed gas supply to the project would originate from the Tres Palacios Natural Gas Storage and Trading Hub and the Williams Markham Gas Processing Plant in Texas through the existing Transco 30-inch pipeline.

The gas would be transported to the project via a new 5.5-mile, 30-inch lateral pipeline to an interconnection hub at the deepwater port. From the hub, four feeder lines would transport the gas to each phase of the deepwater port.

The application, filed 7 July 2025, initiates a public review and stakeholder consultation process overseen jointly by the US Coast Guard and MARAD, including environmental impact assessments, safety reviews and economic viability studies.

If approved, the ST LNG project would join a growing list of Gulf-based liquefaction export developments seeking to offer modular, floating alternatives to conventional onshore terminals.