Tellurian shares rise on US permit extension to construct LNG plant
15/02/2024 20:44
HOUSTON, Feb 15 (Reuters) - Cash-strapped Tellurian Inc
TELL.A on Thursday won a three-year permit extension to
complete construction of its Driftwood LNG export plant, a boost
for the long-delayed liquefied natural gas project.
Shares rose 15% on the news, to about 81 cents apiece,
rebounding from 36 cents apiece earlier this month.
The company has spent years and hundreds of millions of
dollars trying to finance and build a 27.6 million metric ton
per annum (mtpa) LNG terminal near Lake Charles, Louisiana. Last
week, it put its natural gas production operations on the block
to help raise cash to salvage the project.
Tellurian had warned investors last fall that continued
operating losses and dwindling cash reserves might not be last a
year given operating and debt costs. The going-concern warning
preceded its ouster of Chairman Charif Souki.
Thursday's Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
permit extension gives the company to April 2029 to complete the
ongoing construction.
Driftwood has an existing Department of Energy permit to
export the proposed plant's superchilled gas to countries that
do not have free trade agreements with the U.S.
(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston)
((Curtis.Williams@thomsonreuters.com; +1 346 324 7560;))