US liquefied natural gas developer Tellurian moved on Monday to dispel suggestions it was considering a sale of the company as the recent appointment of a new financial advisor triggered speculations over the future of the operation.
Tellurian, which has struggled to progress the $14.5 billion Driftwood LNG project in Louisiana, appointed Lazard as financial advisor in December.
In the same month, the company ousted his co-founder and then chairman Charif Souki, with fellow co-founder Martin Houston taking the helm.
In a statement to shareholders on Monday, Houston hit out at “misleading” press coverage that suggested the company had picked Lazard as it was considering a sale.
“Let me clarify: first and foremost, the purpose of hiring Lazard was to give us advice on unlocking the value of our asset base,” said Houston, who added that the Tellurian operation would benefit from the contribution of George Bilicic, global head of energy at Lazard, described as an “experienced” advisor to energy companies with knowledge of the LNG business, from an earlier executive role at Sempra Energy.
Houston said the company had “near-term decision points” in store relative to the progress of the Driftwood project, but did not offer specific timelines.
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The company is still trying to get Driftwood LNG, which has a nameplate liquefaction capacity of 27.6 million tonnes per annum, onto the project sanction stage despite having lost heavyweight foundation customers including Shell, Vitol and Trafigura along the way.
Houston sought to quell investors’ concern over a possible sale of the developer.
“I am a large Tellurian shareholder and have no greater purpose than getting this job done,” he said,
The Biden administration last week announced a temporary pause on new licenses that are pending for LNG export schemes, while it reviewed their energy security and environmental implications.
Tellurian said in its statement today that it already has a license to permit LNG export to non-FTA countries valid until 2050.
Tellurian has been approached for comment.