Cheniere has been the largest producer of LNG for export in the U.S. since Sabine Pass began producing LNG a decade ago. But export capacity is still growing, as the company discussed during its earnings call on Thursday. Firstly, the firm gave an update on Corpus Christi Stage 3, saying that construction on the entire project is now 98% complete. Train 6 has been substantially complete since June and Train 7 is expected to be complete in a few months. The company is also working on mid-scale trains 8 and 9 and the associated debottlenecking of pipelines to feed those trains, with construction on those projects now reported as 48% complete. Altogether, trains 7-9 are expected to add 6 mtpa in capacity (0.8 Bcf/d in feedgas) to Cheniere’s already hefty export portfolio, as seen in the graph below. CEO Jack Fusco said that this news “reinforces Cheniere’s execution track record for bringing LNG capacity online ahead of schedule and on budget.”
Cheniere also spoke about the Phase 1 expansion of Sabine Pass, touting contracts signed with Bechtel and Baker Hughes that aim to turn that project into reality. The expansion will be a single large-scale liquefaction train capable of producing 6 mtpa (roughly 0.8 Bcf/d of LNG feedgas capacity). Cheniere plans to reach final investment decision (FID) on this project by early 2027.
Also during the earnings call, Cheniere addressed the issue of nitrogen content and how they plan on dealing with it, particularly with the start of new pipelines coming out of the Permian. Fusco mentioned that the facilities have the ability to “sub-cool the LNG” in order to “liquefy the nitrogen in the process and evacuate it.” They also divert substantial amounts of nitrogen-rich gas to the Gregory Power facility north of Corpus Christi. Cheniere confirmed that nitrogen content has stabilized at around 1.5% of all gas coming from the Permian Basin, and they have been able to blend it with gas from other sources to keep it at a reasonable level.
