Liquefaction Process Description

Each of the three proposed liquefaction trains will utilize a proprietary propane precooled mixed refrigerant process, developed by Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. (Air Products), to produce a nominal 4.4 mtpa of LNG. To prepare the feed gas for liquefaction, it will be pretreated near Stratton Ridge to remove CO₂, sulfur compounds, water and mercury after which compressors will be used to increase the pressure of the natural gas for delivery to the terminal through Freeport LNG’s existing 42-inch diameter pipeline.

To convert the pretreated feed gas into LNG, the gas is first cooled with propane refrigerant, after which it is stripped of natural gas liquids (NGLs) via cryogenic distillation in the scrub column. The NGLs are, in turn, stripped of light gases (mostly methane) that are recycled through the main cryogenic heat exchanger (MCHE). Following NGL removal, the primary feed gas from the scrub column is also sent to the MCHE, where it is further cooled inside tube bundles, each made up of several tube circuits, by a lower-temperature mixed refrigerant that flows outside the tubes.

As the feed gas flows up the tubes, it starts condensing by transferring heat to the liquid/vapor mixed refrigerant, which warms up and vaporizes as it flows down the outside of the tubes. The heated mixed refrigerant is then cooled by ambient air, compressed and subsequently chilled by propane refrigerant in heat exchangers, where a portion of the refrigerant condenses. After separating the vapor and liquid streams of mixed refrigerant, both streams are depressurized and admitted to the MCHE to provide cooling for the conversion of methane-rich gas into LNG. The liquid mixed refrigerant stream is depressurized through a liquid expander to increase the overall process efficiency. The high-pressure LNG exiting the MCHE is depressurized through a liquid expander and delivered to the LNG storage tank at near-ambient pressure. Once in the storage tank, the LNG can be pumped through the plant piping to the dock to be loaded onto ships for export.

Regulatory Process

Freeport LNG’s existing LNG terminal is already rigorously regulated, monitored and inspected by a wide range of government agencies. The liquefaction project will require approval and authorization from a number of regulatory bodies:

• Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
• Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
• Other federal, state and local agencies

An approval from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), which is required to grant an export license unless it determines that it is not in the public interest, is also required. Freeport LNG filed two DOE applications, each for 511 Bcf/year, in December 2010 and 2011, respectively, and received approval from DOE to export LNG to Free Trade Agreement countries in February 2011 and 2012, respectively.

In December 2010 Freeport LNG submitted what is known as a pre-filing request with FERC to begin the environmental review of the liquefaction project and in December 2011 Freeport LNG completed and filed drafts of all resource reports for the FERC application, including the draft technical Resource Report 13 (FERC FEED). A formal FERC application pursuant to Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act was filed in August 2012.

Approval Process Schedule

Freeport LNG requested that FERC issue an order authorizing the siting, construction and operation of the liquefaction project no later than the third quarter of 2013. Freeport LNG plans to file its initial Project Implementation Plan soon afterwards and request authorization to commence construction in late 2013. Freeport LNG anticipates a construction schedule of approximately four to five years to completion and start-up of the liquefaction project, which is currently envisaged to occur in 2017.

Environmental Stewardship