Cheniere gets approval for increased Gulf Coast LNG exports
Cheniere Energy has received long-term authorisations from the US Department of Energy (DOE) to enable additional exports from its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi LNG facilities, the department said March 16.
The 30mn metric tons/year Sabine Pass and 15mn mt/yr Corpus Christi terminals now have flexibility to export an additional 720mn ft3/day of natural gas as LNG to any country not covered by a US free trade agreement, or prohibited by sanctions, including all of Europe. The department said the decision means every US LNG export terminal now has approved export quotas for their full operating capacities.
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"US LNG remains an important component to global energy security, and DOE remains committed to finding ways to help our allies and trading partners with the energy supplies they need while continuing to work to mitigate the impact of climate change," the department said.
The US surpassed Qatar and Australia to become the world's largest LNG exporter in January, amid surging demand from Europe and China, according to CNN. Its exports gained further strength with the launch of the final 5mn mt/yr train at Sabine Pass on February 7 and the first batch shipped from Venture Global LNG's 10mn mt/yr Calcasieu Pass facility on March 1.
Cheniere is preparing a final investment decision due June 2022 on further capacity at Corpus Christi. Its Stage III project, slated to launch by June 2027, would deliver seven trains with 11.4mn mt/yr capacity and one additional storage tank.