Energy Transfer announced the surprising move in a statement on Thursday, saying that it will focus on allocating capital to its “significant backlog of natural gas pipeline infrastructure projects that Energy Transfer believes provide superior risk/return profiles.”
“Energy Transfer management has determined that its continued development of the project is not warranted by Energy Transfer but remains open to discussions with third parties who may have an interest in developing the project,” the company said.
The firm did not provide further detals.
Energy Transfer was working to take a final investment decision on the project.
Last month, Energy Transfer’s management said that the company wants to sell 80 percent of the equity in its proposed Lake Charles LNG export facility before making FID on the project.
Energy Transfer’s Lake Charles LNG project seeks to convert its existing regasification terminal to an LNG export facility.
It has a proposed liquefaction capacity of 16.45 mtpa and includes three trains and also modifications to the Trunkline Gas pipeline.
In September last year, Energy Transfer executed an EPC agreement with a joint venture of France’s Technip Energies and US-based KBR.
Earlier this year, Lake Charles LNG signed a heads of agreement with MidOcean Energy, the LNG unit of US-based energy investor EIG, which provides a non-binding framework for the joint development of the LNG project.
Pursuant to the HoA, MidOcean would commit to fund 30 percent of the construction cost and be entitled to 30 percent of the LNG production, or about five mtpa.
In addition, Lake Charles signed twenty-year SPAs with Kyushu Electric Power and Chevron.