Infrastructure leader Kinder Morgan announced it bought the entire stake in a liquefied natural gas terminal in Savannah, Ga., for $630 million from Shell.

"We are very pleased to purchase Shell's equity interest in the joint venture and advance the project with Shell's continued support and subscription to 100 percent of the capacity of our world-class Elba Island terminal," said Kinder Morgan East Region Natural Gas Pipelines President Kimberly S. Watson.

Construction at the terminal is expected to begin in the fourth quarter, with production set for late 2017. Shell maintains a 20-year hold over the terminal's planned 2.5 million tons of annual LNG exports.

The project received authorization from the Department of Energy in 2012 to export LNG to countries that have a free-trade deal with the United States. A pending application for exports to countries without such a deal is pending.

"This is a good opportunity to leverage the proven track record of both companies to deliver an innovative LNG export project in the United States," Ton Ten Have, a vice president of Shell's regional LNG operations, said.

A special permit is needed to export LNG to countries without a U.S. free-trade deal. Critics of such permits suggest it would lead to more hydraulic fracturing, a controversial shale drilling practice considered by some groups to pose a threat to the environment. Supporters said it would help increase U.S. economic leverage overseas.

Kinder said in a statement the next step in the process for Elba Island is for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to issue a draft environmental assessment of the project.