Caturus to start construction of major US LNG facility after securing $9.75 billion

 U.S.-based Caturus has approved the construction of a liquefied natural gas export facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, after securing $9.75 billion for construction works, the company said on Friday.

The Commonwealth LNG project will cost a total of $12.5 billion including financing fees, Chairman Ben Dell said at a ground-breaking ceremony to mark the formal approval.

The engineering, procurement and construction portion of the project is estimated at $8.4 billion, Dell told Reuters on the sidelines of the event.

The plant will include processing units that chill natural gas into liquid for export. Most of the equipment will be built in Italy, with some components sourced from the U.S., Dell said, adding that tariffs have been factored into the project’s budget.

“We have tariffs like everyone else, and we manage that process like everyone else. It is built into the budget,” Dell said.

About 67% of total project spending will be in the U.S. and Italy, he added.

Integrated LNG project

Mubadala Energy, part of an Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, holds a 24.1% stake in Caturus and participated in the project’s financing. Energy investor Kimmeridge and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board also provided funding, with CPP contributing $1.2 billion and increasing its stake in Caturus to 31%.

The Commonwealth facility will be able to export up to 9.5 million metric tons per year. The project is designed as a fully integrated LNG operation which will include both natural gas production and LNG processing facilities.

Most U.S. LNG export projects operate as standalone infrastructure, buying gas from separate producers, charging liquefaction fees and then selling LNG under long-term contracts with limited exposure to spot markets.

Caturus said it has secured long-term supply agreements with EQT LNG Trading (NYSE: EQT), Glencore (LON: GLEN), Mercuria, Malaysia’s Petronas PGAS.KL and Saudi Aramco’s trading arm 2222.SE. The company expects the plant to begin operations in 2030.

The U.S. is the world’s largest LNG exporter, with American supplies now playing a key role in meeting global demand amid disruptions tied to the war with Iran.

The Commonwealth facility is expected to generate about $3 billion in annual export revenue once operational.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Cameron Parish, Louisiana and Shubham Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich, Nathan Crooks and Edmund Klamann)