Tellurian's request to start preparation work at it's $27.5B Driftwood LNG export project in Louisiana has been approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

From the Driftwood LNG website, Driftwood LNG LLC, owned by Tellurian Inc., is developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) production and export terminal on the west bank of the Calcasieu River, south of Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Once complete, the terminal will be able to export up to  27.6 mtpa of LNG or about 3.6 bcfd of natural gas per year to customers worldwide.

On the construction front, the Federal regulator (FERC) said earlier this week that Tellurian could start vegetation clearing and grading, as well as demolition and removal of existing buildings, along with dredging of marine berths, on the location of the Driftwood project.

The order comes less than three months after Tellurian signed a $2.5 billion deal with Indian oil and natural gas company Petronet.

A subsidiary of Tellurian - Driftwood Pipeline LLC - is also investigating the development of a pipeline to deliver gas to the Driftwood LNG facility. The proposed 96-mile feed gas pipeline would deliver to the facility an annual average of 4 bcf/d of natural gas

Tellurian has said it plans to start building the liquefaction plant in early 2020 and produce the first LNG from the facility in 2023.