en.Wedoany.com Reported - Coastal Bend LNG, a U.S. energy infrastructure developer, has submitted a request to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to initiate the pre-filing review for its liquefied natural gas export project on the Texas Gulf Coast. The proposed project would construct four liquefaction trains with an annual capacity of 4.8 million tonnes each, for a total design capacity of 19.2 million tonnes per year, along with LNG storage tanks, vessel loading facilities, and related supporting infrastructure. The developer plans to file a formal application with FERC under Section 3 of the U.S. Natural Gas Act in early 2027. The pre-filing is a preparatory phase for environmental and project review prior to the formal application and does not currently represent approval for construction.
Based on the two disclosure statements, the project design has been adjusted. When Coastal Bend LNG initiated project development in 2025, the announced scale was 22.5 million tonnes per year, including up to five liquefaction trains with an annual capacity of 4.5 million tonnes each, as well as cogeneration, storage tanks, and export facilities for LNG carriers, marine fuel, and ISO tank containers. The plan associated with this permit application adjusts the number of trains to four, increases the per-train capacity to 4.8 million tonnes per year, and correspondingly reduces total capacity to 19.2 million tonnes per year. The project developer has not yet disclosed the engineering scope, investment scale, or reasons involved in this adjustment.
The project plans to equip the natural gas liquefaction and supporting power generation facilities with carbon capture systems, with the transport and geological sequestration of captured carbon dioxide to be arranged through external contracts. Coastal Bend LNG has previously initiated a front-end engineering design study with Solvanic for carbon capture, evaluating the application of electrochemically mediated amine regeneration technology in natural gas processing and cogeneration flue gas capture. This technology uses electricity to release carbon dioxide from the absorbent, replacing the high-temperature steam used in traditional amine systems; Solvanic rated its technology at Technology Readiness Level 4 when signing the study agreement, indicating that the solution remains in the technology validation and engineering design stage.
For the liquefaction process, the project has selected ConocoPhillips' Optimized Cascade liquefaction technology. KBR and Spanish engineering firm Técnicas Reunidas are responsible for the project's front-end engineering design, with KBR's scope including liquefaction and nitrogen removal, feed gas treatment, and heavy hydrocarbon removal, as well as support for FERC filings and permitting work. The two companies will only proceed to detailed engineering, procurement, and construction phases after the project reaches a final investment decision; therefore, it is not appropriate at this time to characterize the project as having commenced EPC construction.
The FERC pre-filing process is primarily used to identify the project's environmental impacts, engineering issues, and regulatory coordination matters prior to the formal application, and to provide a channel for government agencies, communities, and other stakeholders to participate in the review. Coastal Bend LNG will still need to await FERC's handling of the pre-filing request, complete environmental and engineering documentation in accordance with review requirements, and then submit a formal project application.
