Tellurian sees rapid financing progress for Driftwood LNG plant (updated)
07/02/2024 11:09
(Updates throughout with quotes from Tellurian CEO and details
on Driftwood)
By Ashitha Shivaprasad and Sudarshan Varadhan
QUITOL, India, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Tellurian TELL.A
expects equity financing processes and discussions with
financial partners to progress rapidly to fund the Driftwood LNG
plant in Louisiana, the company's CEO Octavio Simoes said on
Wednesday.
"We have a project that has all the permits and is in
construction. So we progress on securing offtake contracts and
on securing partners," Simoes told reporters on the sidelines of
industry event India Energy Week in Goa.
Last month, Houston-based Tellurian hired investment bank
Lazard Inc. LAZ.N amid a search for investors and customers
for its Driftwood LNG export terminal.
The U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer on Tuesday
said it was exploring the sale of its Haynesville upstream
business in East Texas and Louisiana to raise capital for its
Driftwood LNG project.
Tellurian has been trying without success to get a 27.6
million metric ton per annum (mtpa) LNG plant in Lake Charles,
Louisiana, financed for years.
Simoes, meanwhile, said he expects first LNG cargo delivery
from the Driftwood LNG plant by 2028.
"We have made a lot of progress with the banks to understand
the conditions. So once we finalize the offtake and the equity
then the equity financing process can go but it should go very
rapidly," he added.
Late last year, the company sought Lazard's help with
balance sheet management and commercial structures after warning
in November it may not have enough resources to satisfy debt
covenants without new cash.
Tellurian received U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Agency
(FERC) approval in 2019 but did not start construction on its
Driftwood LNG plant for three years. In November, it asked FERC,
part of the Department of Energy, to extend its license into
2029 to complete the Louisiana plant.
(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Sudarshan Varadhan;
writing by Brijesh Patel; editing by Jason Neely and Emelia
Sithole-Matarise)
((Brijesh.Patel1@thomsonreuters.com; Within U.S. +1 651 848
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