The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cleared a Cheniere Energy Inc. subsidiary to export commissioning cargoes of liquefied natural gas from its Corpus Christi LNG plant in Texas as the facility nears completion.
The Oct. 30 order allowed Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC to export LNG associated with the plant's first gas liquefaction train ahead of the official in-service date for what will become Cheniere's second operational export terminal. The FERC order followed an approval from the agency to introduce chemicals to the liquefaction unit, which Cheniere expects to start producing LNG by the end of 2018 and to start commercial service in 2019.
The FERC authorization did not grant approval to commence commercial service of the export terminal, which Cheniere touts as the first such facility built from the ground up in the Lower 48 instead of adapted from an existing facility. To begin service, Corpus Christi LNG will need an additional authorization from FERC after the commission determines the terminal was built in accordance with the original certificate order.
The Cheniere unit also asked FERC on Oct. 25 for authorizations to start commissioning a storage tank, a jetty and related systems. The commission approved the other authorization requests. (FERC docket CP12-507)
Train 1 will add 4.5 million tonnes per annum, or about 0.7 Bcf/d of gas, to total U.S. LNG export capacity.
Corpus Christi is building a second train of the same size and expects it to be completed in the second half of 2019. In May, Cheniere announced a final investment decision for a third train of the same size at the terminal.
At Cheniere's Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana, which began operations in 2016, the company has four LNG trains in service and is commissioning a fifth. The fifth train is expected to start producing LNG around the same time as the first Corpus Christi train. The company has worked to market and finance a sixth train at Sabine Pass.
