Commonwealth LNG has announced a major organizational change, bringing on Farhad Ahrabi, former CEO of Cameron LNG, to serve as Commonwealth’s new President and CEO.
Ahrabi joins Commonwealth following a seven-year tenure at Cameron, during which he oversaw the development, construction and subsequent operations of a 14.5-million tons per anum (mtpa) LNG facility in Hackberry, Louisiana. He arrives at Commonwealth at a key juncture as the company finalizes permitting and commercial arrangements for its own 8.4 mtpa LNG export facility to be located at the mouth of Calcasieu River near the community of Cameron, Louisiana.
Commonwealth Founder and Chairman Paul Varello hailed the addition of Ahrabi as a major step forward for the organization.
“The depth of Farhad’s leadership experience, both at Cameron and the preceding 28 years with BG Group, will be of immeasurable value to our team as we move through the final stages of development and into construction and operation,” said Varello. “Projects of this magnitude involve a complex convergence of technical, financial, political and community support elements that require the kind of high-level thinking and pragmatic solutions that Farhad can bring,” Varello added.
Ahrabi said he was particularly attracted to the Commonwealth opportunity because of the company’s engineering-focused approach that keeps liquefaction costs low and ultracompetitive in the global market at a time when there is a growing demand for U.S.-sourced gas.
“Commonwealth has staked its ground by securing an excellent location, developing a highly modularized approach to provide clean and affordable energy, and offering creative and flexible commercial terms,” said Fahrad. “I’m humbled and excited to have the opportunity to lead the organization in delivering its promise in a way that not only serves the interests of this company, its employees, the local communities and all other stakeholders, but is part of the overall advancement of the next generation U.S. LNG facilities.”
In addition to his prior roles at Cameron LNG and BG Group, Ahrabi has also served over the past two years an Independent Director at ARC Resources Limited, a leading Canadian energy company with a diverse asset portfolio focused on responsible energy development.
Ahrabi holds a PhD. in Reservoir Engineering from the University of Exeter (England) and a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wales.
Commonwealth’s remaining pre-FID activities are underway for a projected start of construction next year with an accelerated schedule that will allow the project to be built in three years using a predominantly modular approach for a projected start of commercial operations in 2026.
