McDermott International, Inc., along with its partners, Chiyoda International Corporation and Zachry Group, announces that Train 1 of the Freeport LNG project on Quintana Island in Freeport, Texas, has begun producing liquefied natural gas (LNG). While production is in the initial phases, this significant project milestone is a precursor to first cargo, which is expected later this month.

"When a facility starts producing a product, it is always a notable achievement, especially for large-scale projects, such as Freeport LNG," said Mark Coscio, McDermott's Senior Vice President for North, Central and South America. "We are proud of the project team, which has worked hard to accomplish this milestone with exceptional safety performance during the construction phase. We look forward to celebrating first cargo for Train 1 soon with the same focus to safety and quality."

Zachry Group, as the joint venture lead, partnered with McDermott for the Pre-FEED in 2011, followed by FEED works to support the early development stage of Trains 1 and 2 of the project as a one-stop shop solution provider. Later Chiyoda joined the venture and the joint team provided engineering, procurement and facility construction as well as commissioning and initial operations for Train 3 of the project. The project scope includes three pre-treatment trains, a liquefaction facility with three trains, a second loading berth and a 165,000 m3 full containment LNG storage tank.

Freeport LNG Trains 2 and 3 remain on track to meet their previously announced schedules, with Train 2 initial production of LNG scheduled for Q4 of 2019 and Train 3 initial production of LNG scheduled for Q1 of 2020.