Pilot LNG and Libra Group’s maritime subsidiary Seapath Group has secured final construction permits for a planned LNG bunkering facility in Galveston, Texas.

The 40-acre greenfield development, dubbed Galveston LNG Bunker Port (GLBP), secured both Section 408 and 404/10 authorisations from the US Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act, along with the US Coast Guard’s Captain of the Port Letter of Recommendation for its waterway suitability assessment.

The approvals follow earlier authorisations from the Texas Railroad Commission for Water Quality Certification and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for air permits.

Situated on the Texas City Ship Channel, the facility will serve LNG-fuelled vessels in the Houston-Galveston region via fuel barge operations.

The facility’s location provides optimal access to major maritime hubs including Port Houston, the Port of Galveston and the Port of Texas City.

Being developed in two phases, the facility will feature a total capacity of 720,000 gallons (gal) per day, supported by two three-million-gallon storage tanks.

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A final investment decision on the project is expected to be taken by mid-2025 and the facility is expected to start operations in the second half of 2027.

Phase one will feature a natural gas pipeline; a 380,000gal-per-day LNG production facility; a three-million-gallon, full-containment storage tank; a control room, warehouse and utilities; and marine barge loading facilities.

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 US 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.”