In December 2017, DECP had introduced feed gas into the natural gas liquefaction facility.
The newly constructed facility is in the process of being commissioned in Lusby, with commercial service expected to begin in early March.
Constructed on the Chesapeake Bay at the Cove Point LNG Terminal, the DECP liquefaction facility has the capability to process about 750 million standard cubic feet of inlet feed gas each day into 5.25mtpa of LNG.
DECP said that all the important equipment of the new liquefaction facility has been operated as expected after a thorough round of testing and quality assurance activities.
The company has an agreement with Shell NA LNG, under which the latter will provide the required natural gas for liquefaction during the commissioning process. Shell NA LNG had also given its commitment to off-take by ship the LNG that is produced at the liquefaction facility.
Upon its commissioning, the DECP liquefaction facility will deliver LNG for ST Cove Point, which is a joint venture between Sumitomo and Tokyo Gas, and also for GGULL, the US affiliate of GAIL (India) under 20-year take-or-pay contracts.
The DECP liquefaction facility broke ground in October 2014 following more than three years of reviews and approvals at the regional, state and federal levels.
DECP had used more than 10,000 craft workers during the construction phase and had a payroll in the excess of $565m.
According to Dominion Energy, natural gas-fired turbines installed at the DECP facility will power its main refrigerant compressors.
The facility will also generate additional electricity on site to cover the power requirements of the liquefaction plant.
IHI/Kiewit Cove Point, a joint venture formed by IHI E&C International Corporation of Houston and Nebraska-based Kiewit Corporation, was given the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for new liquefaction facilities at the Cove Point terminal.
