PowerLNG signs 30-year lease with Port of Galveston to build $240 million LNG production and marine fueling facility
PowerLNG has signed a 30-year lease with Galveston Wharves to develop Project Seawolf — a modular LNG production and marine fueling facility on a 30-acre tract on Pelican Island at the Port of Galveston. The deal includes two 10-year extension options, was announced on October 9, 2026, and comes with an initial capital investment of $240 million.
What was announced
Project Seawolf is a partnership between PowerLNG and the Port of Galveston. The goal: deliver what both companies describe as the first complete marine LNG fueling solution on the Gulf Coast. With two 10-year extension options built into the 30-year lease, the project’s potential operational horizon stretches well into the second half of this century.
The facility is designed to cover the full LNG value chain in one place — liquefaction, storage, marine fueling, and small-scale export. That integrated scope is the core of PowerLNG’s pitch. Not a partial fix. A single hub for vessel operators across the entire region.
The Galveston/Houston area is already a major maritime commerce hub, and broader business growth around LNG-fuelled vessels and diversified cargo types could follow.
Why PowerLNG and the port are pursuing this
The Gulf of Mexico handles significant cruise, cargo, roll-on/roll-off (RoRo), and lay-berth vessel traffic, and demand for LNG as a marine fuel among those operators has been growing. The problem: the Gulf Coast still lacks a complete, integrated marine LNG fueling solution. Project Seawolf is built to fill that gap.
The project also targets small-scale LNG export markets in Mexico and the Caribbean Islands — a second revenue stream that strengthens the commercial case considerably. PowerLNG positions LNG as offering both economic and environmental advantages over conventional marine fuels, though specific metrics behind that claim aren’t detailed in the announcement.
Austin Terry, CEO of PowerLNG, put it this way: “The economic and environmental benefits of marine LNG position the Galveston/Houston area to expand business support for this new class of vessels and diversified cargos.”
Project specifications and operational timeline
The facility sits on a 30-acre tract on Pelican Island inside the Port of Galveston. Initial production capacity is set at 400,000 gallons per day, with the modular design allowing a scale-up to 800,000 gallons per day as demand grows — no full rebuild required.
On-site LNG storage starts at 3 million gallons. Capacity can be added through moveable and stationary vessels as needed, keeping the storage footprint flexible alongside production growth. Full plant operations at the 400,000 gal./d rate are targeted for the end of Q4 2028, and the $240 million initial capital investment covers getting the facility to that first milestone.
Fueling methods and export scope
Project Seawolf isn’t built around a single fueling method — it’s designed to serve different vessel types in different ways.
For cruise ships, the facility connects customers with a strategic partner operating a Jones Act bunker vessel. That enables ship-to-ship LNG fueling while staying compliant with U.S. maritime law, which matters for large vessels that require exactly that approach. RoRo and cargo vessels get a different setup: shore-to-ship loading uses dock-mounted LNG storage combined with moveable fueling equipment, so operators at berth get direct access without needing a separate bunker vessel.
On the export side, small-scale LNG will be shipped to Mexico and the Caribbean via ISO containers and bunkering vessels. It’s a distinct business line from the marine fueling operations, though both draw from the same production and storage infrastructure on Pelican Island.
Project Seawolf at a glance
The $240 million investment is expected to generate a significant number of construction jobs during the build phase. Once operational, the facility is projected to support around 25 full-time positions in production and fueling, with additional roles anticipated for truck drivers and ILA labor involved in loading ISO containers for export — though the announcement doesn’t put a specific number on those.
Beyond the jobs tied directly to the facility, the Port of Galveston is positioning itself as a model for waterfront LNG production and fueling integration. The Galveston/Houston area is already a major maritime commerce hub, and broader business growth around LNG-fuelled vessels and diversified cargo types could follow.
Here’s the full picture: a 30-year lease with two 10-year extension options, a 30-acre site on Pelican Island, initial production of 400,000 gallons per day scalable to 800,000, 3 million gallons of on-site storage to start, ship-to-ship and shore-to-ship fueling, small-scale exports to Mexico and the Caribbean, roughly 25 full-time operations jobs plus construction and logistics positions, a $240 million initial investment, and a targeted operational date of late 2028. That’s what PowerLNG and the Port of Galveston are committing to with Project Seawolf.
Kelly is an experienced writer with 15 years of experience exploring the big stories that shape our world, from tech breakthroughs and space exploration to climate, energy, and the fascinating quirks of science. She has a talent for turning complex ideas into sharp, memorable insights that stay with readers long after they’ve finished reading.
