More US LNG unleashed with Cheniere’s third Corpus Christi segment up and running

U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer and exporter Cheniere Energy has achieved the first LNG production milestone at the next development stage of its Corpus Christi LNG facility in Texas.

Following a final investment decision (FID) in June 2022 to expand its total nominal capacity to over 25 mtpa, as part of the Corpus Christi Stage 3 project, Cheniere inked deals with PetroChina for up to 1.8 mtpa of LNG and with PTT for 1 mtpa of LNG, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2026.

According to the company, LNG was produced for the first time from the first train (Train 1) of its Corpus Christi Stage 3 liquefaction project (CCL Stage 3). While the commissioning process continues, the U.S. firm expects substantial completion of Train 1 to be achieved at the end of the first quarter of 2025, over six months ahead of the guaranteed completion date.

Upon substantial completion, Bechtel Energy will transfer care, custody, and control of the completed train to Cheniere. The full notice to proceed with work on CCL Stage 3 was given in June 2022. This project consists of seven mid-scale trains, with an expected total production capacity of over 10 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG.

As of November 30, 2024, the overall project completion for CCL Stage 3 was 75.9%, which reflects engineering 96.8% complete, procurement 97.2% complete, subcontract work 87.7% complete, and construction 39.2% complete. Upon substantial completion of all seven trains of CCL Stage 3, the expected total production capacity of the Corpus Christi liquefaction facility will be over 25 mtpa of LNG.

Cheniere is said to have one of the largest liquefaction platforms in its arsenal, encompassing the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi liquefaction facilities on the U.S. Gulf Coast, with a total production capacity of approximately 45 mtpa of LNG in operation and an additional 10+ mtpa of expected production capacity under construction.

The U.S. player is also pursuing liquefaction expansion opportunities and other projects along the LNG value chain. Cheniere recently disclosed an updated life cycle assessment (LCA) study of the intensity of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by its exported natural gas. The study showed the levels to be lower than previously thought.

The company is supplying European countries with LNG. Portugal’s Galp is the most recent player to ink a 20-year deal with Cheniere for around 0.5 million tons per annum of LNG, with deliveries slated for the early 2030s.