ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods expects the second liquefaction train at the QatarEnergy-led Golden Pass LNG export terminal in Texas to be mechanically complete by the end of this year.
“Train 2 we expect to be mechanically complete by the end of this year, and Train 3 should be mechanically complete as we head into the second quarter of next year,” Woods told analysts on Friday during the first-quarter earnings call.
Last month, Golden Pass LNG shipped the first cargo of LNG produced from the first liquefaction train.
The 174,000-cbm LNG carrier Al Qaiyyah, chartered by QatarEnergy, is expected to arrive at the Fluxys-operated Zeenrugge LNG terminal in Belgium this week, its AIS data provided by VesselsValue shows.
The LNG export terminal is the 10th such facility in the US.
It has three liquefaction trains with a total capacity of 18.1 million tons per year, five 155,000 cbm LNG storage tanks, and two marine berths to accommodate the world’s largest LNG carriers.
State-owned QatarEnergy, whose LNG and other facilities in Ras Laffan were attacked last in March, owns a 70 percent stake in the Golden Pass project and will offtake 70 percent of the capacity, while US energy firm ExxonMobil has a 30 percent share.
Ras Laffan train repairs
Woods also said during the call that ExxonMobil will work with QatarEnergy to repair damaged liquefaction Trains 4 and 6 in Ras Laffan, which could take from three to five years.
Train 4 is a joint venture between QatarEnergy (66 percent) and ExxonMobil (34 percent), while Train 6 is a joint venture between QatarEnergy (70 percent) and ExxonMobil (30 percent).
“We are extremely committed to working with QatarEnergy and helping restore the supply to the marketplace,” Woods said.
“Having said that, we will do that in a construct that ensures that we generate return on the capital and the money that we put back into that business. I am not going to get into the specifics of how that will play out, but QatarEnergy has always recognized that successful partnerships require win-win solutions and opportunities,” he said.
“We will find a way to do that in a way that is good for QatarEnergy, good for ExxonMobil, and frankly good for the world in terms of bringing that low-cost supply back into the marketplace,” Woods said.
Rovuma LNG and Papua LNG FIDs expected this year
At the same time, ExxonMobil and its partners “continue to progress toward final investment decisions on LNG projects in Papua New Guinea and Mozambique, both expected later this year,” Woods said.
Last year, ExxonMobil and its partners in the Rovuma LNG project in Mozambique lifted force majeure on the project.
Houston-based McDermott, through a consortium with Italy’s Saipem and China Petroleum Engineering and Construction Corporation, won the FEED contract for the Rovuma LNG project in 2024.
In addition, France’s Technip Energies and Japan’s JGC also announced the FEED award for the project.
The two joint ventures are competing to win the EPC contract.
Mozambique Rovuma Venture, which, besides ExxonMobil, includes Italy’s Eni and China’s CNPC, is developing the project.
MRV operates the deepwater Area 4 block in the Rovuma basin off Mozambique, which will feed the planned LNG export plant on the Afungi peninsula from the Mamba reservoirs.
The joint venture holds a 70 percent interest in the Area 4 exploration and production concession contract.
In addition to MRV, Galp, Kogas, and Empresa Nacional de Hidrocarbonetos each hold a 10 percent interest in Area 4.
ExxonMobil is leading the construction and operation of the liquefaction and related facilities on behalf of MRV, and Eni is leading the construction and operation of the upstream facilities.
In Papua New Guinea, TotalEnergies has a 37.55 percent operating stake in the Papua LNG project, ExxonMobil has 37.04 percent, Santos owns a 22.83 percent interest, and JX Nippon holds 2.58 percent.
The facility will be built adjacent to the existing PNG LNG processing facilities, operated by ExxonMobil and located 20 kilometers northwest of Port Moresby.
The LNG plant with an annual capacity of approximately 4 mtpa, ot three 1.33 mtpa trains. (May 4, 2026, Source: https://lngprime.com/americas/exxonmobil-ceo-expects-second-golden-pass-lng-train-completion-by-year-end/185280/)
UNITED STATES - LNG - SUPPLIES - IMPORTS - EXPORTS