Exxon Mobil CEO Darren Woods said on Friday the production of liquefied natural gas at the Golden Pass export terminal in Texas is expected to begin in March, marking a key milestone for the project.
A venture with QatarEnergy, the project will become the latest LNG plant to begin production in the U.S. The $10-billion project has been beset by delays and cost overruns after construction began in 2019. It had to change its lead contractor after it filed for bankruptcy on the project, claiming cost overruns.
“That venture has done a really good job of recovering from the bankruptcy,” Woods said during Exxon’s fourth-quarter earnings call with analysts. “My expectation is we will see first LNG produced in very early March.” A cool-down cargo arrived at Golden Pass in December, a major step toward first LNG production.
(Reporting by Arunima Kumar in Bengaluru and Sheila Dang in Houston; Editing by Nathan Crooks, Elaine Hardcastle)