The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued its final biological opinion for the Annova LNG project in Brownsville, Texas this week, saying, “It is the opinion of the Service that the proposed construction of the Annova LNG project will not likely jeopardize the continued existence of the ocelot or Gulf Coast jaguarundi.”

“Our mission is to be the most sustainable U.S. provider of liquefied natural gas, and this official opinion reflects our close consultation with the Service over the past several years to protect and conserve habitat for these protected and other valued species in the Rio Grande Valley,” said Omar Khayum, CEO, Annova LNG.

Annova LNG has made several proactive voluntary conservation measures, including:

Expanded its lease and modified its project layout to establish a 185-acre environmental conservation corridor, where existing dense thornscrub and other habitats, including over 100 acres of wetlands, would be preserved.

Contributed funding to the perpetual conservation of over 1,000 acres of land, including approximately 390 acres of dense thornscrub in the South Texas Ocelot Coastal Corridor area in Cameron County that are inhabited by ocelots, and has committed to an additional 250 acres of thornscrub habitat preservation.

Committed to provide funding for adaptive research, conservation, and recovery efforts of the Feline Research Program of the Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute at Texas A&M University – Kingsville.

“We appreciate the Service’s dedication to habitat recovery and their guidance to Annova LNG during our project’s development,” said Khayum. “Annova LNG’s habitat conservation measures are just one example of our dedication to responsible, sustainable development in the Rio Grande Valley.”

About Annova LNG

Annova LNG is a 6.0 MTPA liquefied natural gas export facility under development at the Port of Brownsville, Texas. With an experienced leadership team and investment-grade equity owners including Exelon Corporation, Black & Veatch Corporation and Kiewit Corporation, Annova LNG is expected to be a leader among second wave U.S. LNG projects by catering to midscale LNG customers who are buying in 1.0 MTPA increments. The facility would diversify the Brownsville and the Rio Grande Valley economy and provide a much-needed boost by creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs from construction through operations.