Golden Pass LNG exported its seventh cargo from the 18.1mn t/yr (2.4bn ft³/d) terminal in southeast Texas on Tuesday as feedgas flows to the QatarEnergy-ExxonMobil joint venture hit their highest level in six weeks.
QatarEnergy's 174,000m³ Umm Heesh departed Golden Pass with a 76,000t cargo early Wednesday bound for Belgium's 11.4mn t/yr Zeebrugge import terminal, Kpler data show. Since 26 June, after the terminal underwent maintenance, Golden Pass has averaged one loading every 13.5 days. This is equivalent to a rate of 2.4mn t/yr, or 40pc of the first liquefaction train's capacity. At full capacity, train 1 can produce about 1.6 cargoes per week, assuming an average cargo size of 72,000t.
Wednesday's departure came 14.7 days after the previous loading, a step back from the earlier pace. QatarEnergy's 174,000m³ Umm Wishah departed on 4 August, eight days after ExxonMobil's same-size Esteem Cormorant left on 27 July, Kpler data show.
Meanwhile, the terminal received 529mn ft³/d of gas on Tuesday, the highest since 2 July, pipeline data show, as the joint venture commissions the first train. Flows to Golden Pass have averaged 320mn ft³/d over the 30-day period ended 17 August. The facility was preliminarily nominated to receive a record high 588mn ft³ of gas on 19 August, but flows often fluctuate and may be revised later in the day.
Trains 2 and 3 were originally planned to come on line in six-month increments. But Golden Pass had to shuffle the setup of its construction contractors after the 2024 bankruptcy of lead contractor Zachry Holdings, which may challenge the six-month cadence, market participants said.