UPDATE 1-Tellurian sees rapid financing progress for Driftwood LNG plant

(Updates throughout with quotes from Tellurian CEO and details on Driftwood)

By Ashitha Shivaprasad and Sudarshan Varadhan

QUITOL, India, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Tellurian expects equity financing processes and discussions with financial partners to progress rapidly to fund the Driftwood LNG plant in Louisiana, the company's CEO Octavio Simoes said on Wednesday.

"We have a project that has all the permits and is in construction. So we progress on securing offtake contracts and on securing partners," Simoes told reporters on the sidelines of industry event India Energy Week in Goa.

Last month, Houston-based Tellurian hired investment bank Lazard Inc. amid a search for investors and customers for its Driftwood LNG export terminal.

The U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer on Tuesday said it was exploring the sale of its Haynesville upstream business in East Texas and Louisiana to raise capital for its Driftwood LNG project.

Tellurian has been trying without success to get a 27.6 million metric ton per annum (mtpa) LNG plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana, financed for years.

Simoes, meanwhile, said he expects first LNG cargo delivery from the Driftwood LNG plant by 2028.

"We have made a lot of progress with the banks to understand the conditions. So once we finalize the offtake and the equity then the equity financing process can go but it should go very rapidly," he added.

Late last year, the company sought Lazard's help with balance sheet management and commercial structures after warning in November it may not have enough resources to satisfy debt covenants without new cash.

Tellurian received U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Agency (FERC) approval in 2019 but did not start construction on its Driftwood LNG plant for three years. In November, it asked FERC, part of the Department of Energy, to extend its license into 2029 to complete the Louisiana plant. (Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad and Sudarshan Varadhan; writing by Brijesh Patel; editing by Jason Neely and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)