$8.2 Billion ST LNG Project to Boost U.S. LNG Export Capacity by 7% to 9%
Key Facts
The U.S. Department of Transportation said on October 28, 2026, that Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the U.S. Maritime Administration’s (MARAD) approval of a license application for the ST LNG project, a deepwater port for liquefied natural gas that the department values at $8.2 billion. MARAD expects the project to increase U.S. LNG export capacity by 7% to 9% once operational. The approval gives the project a regulatory path toward construction, while the official estimate ties its expected impact to national export capacity. MARAD Director Stephen Carmel said the license marks the agency’s third approval of a deepwater port project under the Trump administration. The project comes amid an expansion in U.S. gas exports, which have already grown in the first half of the year.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, average U.S. LNG exports reached 17.4 billion cubic feet per day in the first half of 2026, up 23% from the same period in 2025. In April, the agency estimated exports would rise by a further 9%, equivalent to 1.5 billion cubic feet per day, in 2027. These figures put MARAD’s projection for ST LNG in the context of a market with rising export volumes, although the increase attributed to the project concerns export capacity once it is operational. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the project would sustain growth in demand for natural gas from Texas and in demand for workers who extract it. Duffy thus linked new export infrastructure to continued demand for the state’s resources and gas-sector workers.
The port will be located about 10.4 miles off the coast of Matagorda, Texas. At full capacity, it will include 20 platforms, four floating LNG storage units, four mooring systems and 7.7 miles of pipelines. MARAD says moving vessel traffic to the site will keep it away from more congested coastal areas, reducing ship collisions and safety risks. The project is also tied to existing supply infrastructure in Texas: feed gas will come from the Tres Palacios gas storage and trading hub and the Williams Markham gas processing facility. The gas will be transported through an existing Transco pipeline located about 5.6 miles northeast of the port, according to the department.
MARAD estimates the project will support 2,000 jobs during construction and up to 855 permanent jobs once operational. The department presents these figures as the project’s expected local impact, combining offshore facilities, pipelines and supplies from existing sites. On the regulatory review, MARAD said it completed the project’s final environmental impact statement in 410 days. It described the timeframe as about 3.7 years shorter than the historical average, a 70% reduction in review time. The procedural milestone places the license approval after an environmental review that the agency said was completed faster than the historical average.
MARAD has been responsible for deepwater port licenses since the Department of Transportation announced on January 5, 2026, that oversight was being transferred from the U.S. Coast Guard. The announcement included the administration taking over environmental compliance review duties under the National Environmental Policy Act. This change identifies the agency that oversaw the ST LNG project review and issued the license, and explains MARAD’s role in preparing the final environmental impact statement. The agency says completing the statement in 410 days was about 3.7 years faster than the historical average for reviews. The project’s announced schedule calls for construction to begin in 2027, with the port entering service in 2029.