Secretary Perry met with leaders from Qatar and ExxonMobil to announce that $10 billion will be invested in the Golden Pass LNG terminal in Texas.
February 5, 2019
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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs, CEO and President of Qatar Petroleum, H.E. Saad Al-Kaabi, and ExxonMobil Chairman and CEO Darren Woods announced that approximately $10 billion will be invested in the Golden Pass LNG terminal near Sabine Pass, Texas. Qatar Petroleum will invest more than $8 billion and ExxonMobil more than $2 billion in the project.
This investment will enable the Golden Pass terminal to export America’s energy bounty and has the potential to generate nearly $35 billion in U.S. economic gains including federal, state, and local tax revenues over the life of the project. Project activities will begin in the near future, and are expected to create over 45,000 direct and indirect full-time jobs nationwide during the five-year construction period.
“Today’s agreement is the latest example of the vital partnership between the U.S. and Qatar - from American universities putting campuses in Qatar, to our strategic military relationship, and of course, our collaboration in the energy sector,” said Secretary Perry. “The Golden Pass project is proof that two of the world’s top energy producers can work together as allies to increase energy diversity, advance energy security, and support rather than subvert an open energy marketplace.”
“The Golden Pass LNG export project is not our first investment in the United States, and is certainly not going to be our last. It represents a significant part of the plans that Qatar Petroleum has announced to invest $20 billion in the U.S. energy sector, which we believe would bring great benefits for both the United States and the State of Qatar,” said H.E. Mr. Al-Kaabi. “The development of the Golden Pass LNG export facility enhances the depth and flexibility of our global LNG supply portfolio, and reinforces the position of the U.S. as a key contributor to meeting the world’s growing demand for LNG.”
“Golden Pass will provide an increased, reliable, long-term supply of liquefied natural gas to global gas markets, stimulate local growth and create thousands of jobs,” said Darren Woods, chairman and chief executive officer of Exxon Mobil Corporation. “The extensive experience of ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum provides the expertise, resources and financial strength needed to construct and operate an integrated liquefaction and export facility in the United States.”
The Department of Energy has authorized 23.05 billion cubic feet per day (235 billion cubic meters per year or 177 MTPA (million tons per annum) of LNG) of natural gas primarily spread across 10 large-scale export projects in Louisiana, Texas, Maryland, Georgia, and the Gulf of Mexico. Once completed, Golden Pass will be the seventh large scale LNG export project in the United States and be capable of exporting more than 2 billion cubic feet per day of U.S. LNG to any county not prohibited by U.S. law or policy.