The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted Cheniere Energy Inc. permission to start service on a 23-mile, 48-inch-diameter pipeline to serve the Corpus Christi LNG export project under construction in Texas.
The May 23 authorization found that Cheniere "stabilized" construction workspaces along the project route that were flagged by pipeline safety regulators in early February as "probable violations." Cheniere applied May 1 for approval to place the line into service after it finished weld testing required by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. (FERC docket CP12-508)
The Cheniere Corpus Christi Pipeline LP project will transport gas bidirectionally between the LNG terminal and interstate and intrastate natural gas pipeline systems. Two liquefaction trains are expected to enter service in March 2019 and September 2019, and Cheniere announced May 22 that it is moving forward on a third train at the facility.
Once all units are online, the Corpus Christi LNG export terminal will be able to produce 13.5 million tonnes per annum, or 2.1 Bcf/d, of LNG.
