Galveston LNG Bunker Port, LLC (GLBP) has secured the final federal permits necessary to move forward with construction of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) marine fueling terminal on the Texas City Ship Channel.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued its Section 408 and Section 404/10 authorizations under the Clean Water Act. The U.S. Coast Guard also issued its Captain of the Port Letter of Recommendation, completing the project's Waterway Suitability Assessment under 33 CFR 127. Together, these approvals represent the final major federal requirements for the LNG facility, GLBP said in a statement.
The planned facility, located in the Texas City industrial area, is expected to provide LNG fuel via barge to vessels operating in the Houston-Galveston region. GLBP said the site is situated to serve several major Gulf Coast ports, including Port Houston, the Port of Galveston, and the Port of Texas City.
GLBP is a joint venture between Pilot LNG and Seapath Group, the maritime investment arm of Libra Group.
The company expects to reach a final investment decision by mid-2025, with initial deliveries targeted for the second half of 2027. Earlier this year, GLBP received its air permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and its water quality certification from the Texas Railroad Commission.
“This is a crucial milestone for our project and is the culmination of intense effort and hard work by the overall team,” said Pilot LNG chief development officer, Shaun Davison. “I would like to extend my thanks to the many dedicated professionals who made this possible – both the GLBP team and our trusted advisors. We are in the very advantageous position of being the only permitted LNG bunker project in the region. We look forward to beginning LNG bunker deliveries to customers in the second half of 2027.”
Seapath Group president Josh Lubarsky said, “After several years of challenging and complex work bringing together the engineering, permitting, and third party supplies for gas and power to the project, we are now comfortably ahead in the marketplace to be the first dedicated LNG marine fuels supplier in the U.S. Gulf. So much work is required behind the scenes to get a complex project to this point, which oftentimes goes unnoticed. We have made a significant financial commitment to this project and, over the course of the last several years, have positioned GLBP to be the foremost clean fuel supply hub in the Galveston Bay/Gulf region. We could not be more excited for the start of construction in the coming months.”
