Analysts say the Golden Pass LNG project is still slated to start service in the first quarter 2026, despite the owners asking federal regulators for an extension to complete construction of the export facility.

East Daley Analytics (EDA) initially set the expected start date for Train 1 in early August. That followed the resolution of  a bankruptcy case by the project’s lead contractor Zachry Holdings Inc that virtually ground the project to a halt. Golden Pass is a joint venture between QatarEnergy and Exxon Mobil.

 Golden Pass recently filed a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) seeking to extend is full in-service date to Nov. 20, 2029, EDA said Sept. 5 in a research report. Despite the request, EDA is maintaining its first-quarter 2026 timetable for Train 1 to start.

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Golden Pass announced plans for a similar extension from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to push back the deadline on its non-Free Trade Agreement (non-FTA) and FTA export authorizations to March 31, 2027. That would give Golden Pass LNG until first-quarter 2027 to begin commercial operations at Train 1, EDA said.

At full production, the $9.25 billion Golden Pass LNG plant is designed to produce 18 million tonnes of LNG per annum.

Last month, Exxon Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said Golden Pass was in the early stages of restaffing and getting started again at the project after reaching a settlement with Zachry.

The Texas-based company had expected a “six-month slippage” in the LNG project’s development, Woods said during Exxon’s second-quarter 2024 webcast on Aug. 2.

“So, we had anticipated kind of first LNG the middle of next year. We now are looking at probably the back end of 2025 for first LNG,” Woods said. “And that's kind of where the current schedule is, but I would just condition that with the teams are just getting back up and running and they have a clear mandate to try to bring that in as effectively as they can. And, again, my expectation is they'll do better than we currently think but we've got work to do.”

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