Elba Island LNG terminal, located on a private island in the Savannah River approximately five miles downstream from Savannah, Georgia, secured a 22% export capacity increase from the US Department of Energy in April 2026, lifting its authorised annual export limit to non-Free Trade Agreement countries from 130 billion cubic feet per year to 158.25 Bcf/y.
Operated by Southern LNG Company LLC — a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan — the terminal is one of the few US LNG export facilities on the East Coast, serving as a strategically important outlet for Atlantic Basin buyers. Kinder Morgan holds a 51% operating interest; Blackstone Credit holds the remaining 49%.
Elba Island LNG: From Import to Export
The Elba Island LNG site dates to 1972, when it was initially authorised as an import terminal for Southern Natural Gas. LNG imports ceased in 1980. The facility remained largely dormant in import mode until a phased recommissioning began in 2000, followed by further expansions in 2003 and 2006.
Plans to convert the terminal to export capacity were announced in 2013. Construction of the liquefaction project began in November 2016, with the first of ten movable modular liquefaction units (MMLUs) coming online in May 2019. All ten trains were commissioned by August 2020, giving the terminal a total nameplate export capacity of 2.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
Shell holds a 20-year offtake agreement covering the terminal’s full output, making it the sole buyer for the Elba Island LNG export facility. This Shell LNG off-take structure underpins the terminal’s commercial model and its role as a fixed-destination supply source for Shell’s global LNG portfolio.
Elba Island LNG Ownership and Financing
The terminal’s current ownership structure reflects a series of transactions over nearly a decade. In March 2017, EIG Global Energy Partners acquired a 49% stake in the Elba Liquefaction Company from Kinder Morgan, backed by US$730 million in project finance debt from a syndicate of 19 lenders including Société Générale, Morgan Stanley, Royal Bank of Canada, ING, and KfW IPEX Bank.
In September 2022, Kinder Morgan sold its 25.5% indirect stake in the project to an undisclosed buyer for US$565 million. EIG subsequently transferred its 49% interest to Blackstone Credit, which now holds that position alongside Kinder Morgan’s retained operating interest.
The 2026 Optimization Project
In October 2023, Kinder Morgan announced an optimization project targeting an additional 0.4 mtpa of export capacity, which would bring the terminal’s total to 2.9 mtpa. The project involves a new condensate plant and liquid nitrogen vaporizers. FERC granted environmental assessment approval in March 2024 and full authorization in November 2024.
As of April 2026, Kinder Morgan had installed the new condensate plant — one of the principal components of the optimization project. Regulators also approved the introduction of hazardous fluids into a new liquefaction module, a key commissioning milestone.
The DOE’s April 2026 export limit increase was granted alongside the optimization project’s progress, citing global energy supply conditions. The expanded export authorisation applies to non-FTA countries and raises the per-day ceiling to approximately 433 million cubic feet.
Elba Island LNG: Infrastructure and Storage
The terminal sits on an 840-acre private island and features three double-walled steel cryogenic storage tanks with a combined capacity of 1.2 million barrels of LNG. The facility retains its legacy regasification infrastructure — enabling a bidirectional operational model — though export has been the primary function since 2019.
Ten MMLUs, each rated at 0.25 mtpa, deliver the facility’s liquefaction capacity. Natural gas arrives via pipeline, where it is cooled and reduced in volume by a factor of approximately 600 before being loaded onto LNG carriers. The terminal has marine berth access on the Savannah River, with routing through the Port of Savannah channel.
In May 2020, a fire at one of the liquefaction compressors forced Units 1–3 offline; Units 1 and 3 were restored within ten days. No cargo exports were made between January and August 2020, partly due to the fire and partly due to the collapse in global LNG demand during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Elba Island LNG in the Context of US LNG Export Growth
The Elba Island LNG facility is among the smaller US export terminals by capacity, but its East Coast location differentiates it from the Gulf Coast-dominated export infrastructure. The top LNG export terminals globally are overwhelmingly located in Qatar, Australia, and the US Gulf Coast, where Sabine Pass, Corpus Christi, and Freeport dominate by volume.
For Atlantic Basin buyers — particularly in Europe — the Savannah River location reduces voyage distance and transit time compared with Gulf Coast alternatives. This geographic advantage, combined with the Shell offtake structure, gives the terminal strategic relevance beyond its headline capacity.
With the optimization project adding 0.4 mtpa and the DOE export limit raised in 2026, Elba Island LNG is positioned to contribute incrementally to the broader US LNG export ramp that saw US facilities collectively reach record dispatch volumes in early 2026. Cheniere’s Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi terminals lead US export volume — see the Cheniere Energy LNG export profile for comparison — but Elba’s fixed offtake model and East Coast positioning make it a structurally distinct asset.
Where is the Elba Island LNG terminal located?
The Elba Island LNG terminal is located on a private island in the Savannah River, approximately five miles downstream from Savannah, Georgia, USA
Who owns the Elba Island LNG terminal?
The terminal is operated by Southern LNG Company LLC, a subsidiary of Kinder Morgan, which holds a 51% operating interest. Blackstone Credit holds the remaining 49% stake.
What is the export capacity of the Elba Island LNG terminal?
The terminal has a nameplate capacity of 2.5 mtpa across ten modular liquefaction trains. An optimization project targeting an additional 0.4 mtpa was underway as of 2026, which would bring total capacity to 2.9 mtpa.
Who buys LNG from the Elba Island terminal?
Shell holds a 20-year offtake agreement covering the terminal’s full export output, making it the sole buyer of LNG produced at the Elba Island facility
What happened at Elba Island LNG in 2026?
In April 2026, the US Department of Energy authorized a 22% increase in export capacity, raising the annual limit for non-FTA countries to 158.25 Bcf/y. Kinder Morgan also advanced the site’s physical optimization project, installing a new condensate plant as part of a planned 0.4 mtpa capacity addition.