Exxon Mobil and Qatar Petroleum International have announced plans to build a $10bn natural gas liquefication facility at Sabine Pass on the Gulf of Mexico, reported the Dallas Times.
The announcement comes as the joint venture of the two companies Golden Pass Products awaits permission from the US. government to begin exporting natural gas, which is cooled and liquefied before being shipped overseas.
At present the government only allows gas to be exported to the 20 countries with free trade arrangements with the US, but companies are eager to begin exporting to natural gas hungry countries like Japan and China.
If construction goes ahead the facility in Sabine will eventually move up to 15.6 million metric tons on liquefied natural gas a year. The property already serves as an import terminal, taking LNG shipments from overseas.
The company said it expects the project to create 45,000 direct and indirect jobs nationwide during the construction.