The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) has approved a license for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project worth $8.2 billion on the Texas coast. This project, known as ST LNG, LLC, is designed to expedite the permitting process for deep-water ports and is located approximately 10.4 miles from the shores of Matagorda, Texas.
Project Details and Construction Timeline
The ST LNG project is expected to begin construction in 2027 and be operational by 2029. This new facility will have an annual export capacity of up to 8.4 million metric tons of LNG. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, this project could create up to 2,000 jobs during construction and 855 permanent jobs.
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A notable aspect of this project is the speed of its approval. MARAD was able to finalize the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for this project in just 410 days, which is approximately 3.7 years faster than the historical average and represents a 70% reduction in review time. This approval has been described as the fastest deep-water port licensing review in over two decades.
Economic and Environmental Impacts
The ST LNG project is designed to process and load natural gas offshore, allowing LNG ships to operate away from busy coastal port facilities. The project includes four liquefaction systems, each capable of producing 2.1 million metric tons of LNG per year. Ultimately, this facility will include 20 offshore platforms, four floating LNG storage units, four ship mooring systems, and approximately 7.7 miles of pipeline.
The natural gas will be supplied from the Tres Palacios natural gas storage and trading hub and the Williams Markham gas processing plant through existing infrastructure. The local nature of this project will help reduce ship traffic in busy coastal waterways and limit the risks of potential accidents associated with LNG transportation.
According to the Department of Transportation, this facility could increase U.S. LNG export capacity by 7 to 9 percent. The approval of this project follows a series of legal steps taken over the past year.
MARAD officially began processing the ST LNG application in 2025, published the draft environmental impact assessment statement in April 2026, and released the final statement in July. The last public meeting was held in August, after which the decision on the license issuance was made.
This approval also reflects broader government maritime and energy policy advancements, including its executive orders on American energy production and the revitalization of U.S. maritime dominance.
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