Officials with the Houston-based Tellurian announced Monday that its contractor, Bechtel Energy Inc., can move forward with phase one of construction on the $16.8 billion Driftwood LNG export terminal south of Carlyss.

The facility will be built on a more than 1,000-acre site located on the Calcasieu Ship Channel’s west side. The Port of Lake Charles and Driftwood LNG entered into a long-term lease agreement last June.

Officials with Tellurian, Driftwood’s parent company, said that Bechtel Energy will start demolition and preparation work at the site, along with “construction of critical foundations.” Baker Hughes will manufacture two natural gas turbines as part of the project’s first phase.

Octávio Simões, Tellurian president and CEO, said in a statement that starting construction will kickstart the scheduled exporting of liquefied natural gas by 2026. The Driftwood facility is anticipated to export 27.6 metric tons of LNG per year. The initial two LNG plants are expected to export as much as 11 million tons of LNG annually. Simões added that financing for the project is still ongoing.

“Energy security is a leading concern in many countries today, and the United States must do our part to supply LNG to the global market as quickly as possible,” Simões said.

Craig Albert, Bechtel’s chief operating officer, released a statement that echoed Simões’ comments on the global need for a domestic reliable energy source.

All of the permits needed to start construction on the Driftwood LNG project have been received, Tellurian officials said. Thirty percent of engineering work is complete.

Tellurian officials have said the Driftwood project will generate roughly 6,400 construction jobs and 400 permanent jobs once the terminal is fully operational.