In late 2010, Freeport LNG began the process to obtain permits from the U.S. FERC for construction and operation of the LNG export facility, and the U.S. DOE for the export of LNG.

In April 2012, Freeport LNG, Osaka Gas and Chubu Electric (now JERA, after combining its energy supply operations with TEPCO to form the new venture) executed a heads of agreement outlining the terms of two liquefaction tolling agreements (LTAs) for 2.2 mtpa each (4.4 mtpa in total) and an equity investment in Freeport LNG’s initial liquefaction train (Train 1).

In July 2012, definitive agreements were executed. By October, financing discussions had started with Japanese government entities, The Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Nippon Export and Investment Insurance, for the sourcing of Train 1 financing.

In February 2013, an LTA for 4.4 mpta was executed with BP Energy. With the commercial agreements concluded for the production capacity of the first two liquefaction trains, EPC contracts were executed in December 2013 with a joint venture of Zachry Construction and CB&I, followed shortly thereafter by the equity arrangement for Freeport LNG’s second liquefaction train (Train 2) with IFM Global Infrastructure Fund.

In November 2014, FERC and DOE final approvals were granted, the financings for Train 1 and Train 2 were closed, and construction commenced. At the time, the financing was the largest fully non-recourse construction project financing in history.

LTAs had also been executed in 2013 with SK E&S and Toshiba Corporation for 2.2 mtpa each, providing the offtake commitments necessary to commercialize Freeport LNG’s third liquefaction train (Train 3). Freeport LNG opted to develop Train 3 using 100% debt financing rather than third party equity as it had for Train 1 and Train 2. In early 2015, a Train 3 EPC contract was executed with a joint venture of Zachry Construction, CB&I and Chiyoda and, in April 2015, Freeport LNG closed the Train 3 financing and commenced construction.

Train 1 operations were initially anticipated to begin in September 2018, followed by Train 2 and Train 3 in February and August 2019, respectively, but the project did not go without incident. EPC contractor execution delays, combined with the impacts of Hurricane Harvey in August 2017, resulted in delays to construction of over a year.

In 2019, after experiencing financial difficulties, one of Freeport LNG’s EPC contractors, CB&I, was acquired by McDermott International, who subsequently declared bankruptcy in early 2020. Further, beginning in early 2016, Toshiba experienced financial difficulties that resulted a series of credit downgrades, ultimately to sub-investment grade levels. As part of a corporate reorganization, Toshiba decided to abandon its LNG-to-Power strategy and sought to divest its LNG business. This process culminated in a sale of Toshiba’s U.S. LNG business, including the LTA with Freeport LNG, to Total in September 2019.

Despite the difficulties experienced along the way, Train 1 was successfully commissioned and began commercial operations in December 2019, with Train 2 and Train 3 commencing operations shortly thereafter in January and May 2020. Combined, the three trains can produce over 15 mtpa of LNG.