Gulf LNG Pushes for 5-Year Delay on Non-FTA Export Mandate
Department of Energy
The Department of Energy's Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office (HGEO) is weighing a formal request from Gulf LNG Liquefaction Company, LLC (GLLC) to delay its mandated export commencement deadline by five years.
Originally bound by DOE/FE Order No. 4410 to begin operations by July 31, 2026, GLLC is now pushing for a revised regulatory deadline of July 31, 2031.
Public comments and motions to intervene must be filed electronically by 4:30 p.m. Eastern on May 26, 2026.
Under current authorizations, GLLC holds the right to export up to 558.9 billion cubic feet per year of domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Jackson County, Mississippi terminal.
This gas is permitted for export to non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) nations.
The operational reality is that GLLC cannot meet its original seven-year window, citing events outside its control that frustrated commercial agreements.
Following a May 2024 Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) decision that extended the facility's construction and in-service deadline to July 16, 2029, GLLC requires the additional DOE runway to execute commercial contracts and initiate physical exports.
This action directly targets GLLC and its export capabilities at the Gulf LNG Terminal.
The underlying authorization explicitly carves out and excludes any nations where trade is prohibited by U.S. law or policy, narrowing the scope strictly to permissible non-FTA countries.
Procedurally, the HGEO has established a strict firewall for public involvement, and the agency will not consider comments or protests that do not bear directly on this specific extension request.
Furthermore, entities that secured intervenor status in prior dockets for this project are stripped of that standing here, and they must file entirely new motions to intervene in this specific proceeding to establish party status.
