Caturus unveils expansion plans for Commonwealth LNG

Privately held Caturus, which is backed by Kimmeridge, unveiled a proposal this week for an expansion of its Commonwealth LNG project on the Louisiana Gulf Coast.

Commonwealth LNG is currently under construction, after Caturus made a final investment decision (FID) on the facility in May 2026. The FID covers six liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of 9.5mn tonnes per year (tpy). Caturus said in its September 15 announcement that base project construction on this phase was progressing “safely” and on schedule, with start-up targeted for 2030.

Now, the company is proposing developing a further five trains at Commonwealth, with a combined capacity of 7.75mn tpy. Adding these trains would nearly double the project’s total capacity to around 17.25mn tpy.

"Global energy demand continues to grow for more reliable, affordable energy, and the United States is in a position to supply it," stated Caturus’ CEO, David Lawler. " By capitalising on the momentum at Commonwealth LNG and strength of our integrated platform, we're creating additional capacity, greater flexibility for customers and a clear path for continued growth well into the next decade,” he said.

"The expansion project is the natural extension of what we're already building, and our growing upstream portfolio provides the gas to support additional capacity," added Caturus’ president, Tim Wyatt. "The market wants more volume and longer-term supply and our integrated offering has proven to be a success for our initial base project.”

The announcement coincided with the Gastech conference, taking place in Bangkok, Thailand this week. Caturus executives participated in the conference, where discussions touched on interest among Asian companies in signing new offtake agreements with US LNG exporters amid ongoing supply disruptions in the Middle East.

Wyatt said Caturus intended to pursue the expansion project “with urgency and discipline”, while continuing to engage with the local community, government officials and other stakeholders.

The announcement said that the project would be targeted to enter service in the early 2030s. The company added that the expansion project represented a “significant new tranche” of long-term LNG supply for buyers.

Around 8.5mn tpy of the first phase’s total capacity of 9.5mn tpy is subscribed under long-term sale and purchase agreements (SPAs).

Caturus said it expected to carry forward the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) experience from Commonwealth LNG’s first phase, drawing on a “proven modular construction methodology, established equipment and fabrication supply chain and existing relationships with vendors and partners”. Technip Energies is the EPC contractor for the first phase of the project.

Caturus is understood not to have started regulatory proceedings for the expansion of Commonwealth LNG with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or the US Department of Energy (DoE) yet. However, if the company wishes to bring the expansion project into service in the early 2030s, it needs to move fast.