IFM backs Texas LNG project

A proposed natural gas liquefaction and liquid natural gas (LNG) project located off the Texas Coastal Bend is getting a billion-dollar injection of funding from IFM Investors.

IFM, formerly Industry Funds Management (IFM), is putting $1.3 billion into ‘Train Two,’ a plant and loading facility in early stage development, according to a press statement.

Train Two will be located on Quintana Island, a diminutive, isolated land mass near Freeport, a seaport on the Gulf of Mexico, in US state Texas. The site has a planned “51-to-54-month construction period,” according to IFM.

The project is expected to reach financial close in 2014.

Freeport LNG Expansion is developing Train Two, which has a 20-year liquefaction tolling agreement with BP Energy Company. Freeport LNG awarded CB&I and Zachry Industrial $2.5 billion to construct the project.

In the LNG space, a liquefaction plant is called a “train”. ‘Train One,’ the first plant, is expected to begin operation before Train Two, while construction on a third train is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2015.

Kyle Mangini, global head of infrastructure for IFM Investors, lauded Train Two for its “favorable risk/return profile”. IFM has $46 billion in assets under management (AUM).