LNG export project moves forward | savannahnow.com

Plans continue for $1.5 billion-worth of development at Elba Island to allow the liquefied natural gas import facility to reverse its processes and export the fuel. Southern LNG and Elba Liquefaction Co. filed a formal application for the project with federal regulators earlier this week.

The facility currently imports and stores liquefied natural gas on a private island in the Savannah River about five miles downstream from downtown Savannah. On Monday the companies requested permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build and operate a natural gas liquefaction facility made up of 10 modular, movable units.

The units, able to liquefy about 2.5 million metric tons of LNG per year for export, are to be constructed and placed into service in two phases.

If the plans are approved, the current ability to import about 40-50 ship tankers full of LNG a year will be turned around to allow Elba to export about the same amount of gas, though it will retain its import capability. Instead of vaporized natural gas flowing only inland through pipelines, it will also be able to flow to the coast through those same pipelines and be liquefied at the Savannah River facility before being stored in its five storage tanks and eventually loaded onto tanker ships for export.

via LNG export project moves forward | savannahnow.com.