Cheniere seeks early federal review for 20-Mt/y Sabine Pass LNG expansion

Cheniere Energy Inc. provided an early look at plans for an expansion of its flagship Sabine Pass export terminal in Louisiana that would add liquefied natural gas production capacity of about 20 million tonnes/year.

The large LNG exporter told U.S. regulators that it would likely file a formal permit application in the fourth quarter of 2023. The expansion would entail three trains, each designed to produce about 6.5 Mt/y, along with two storage tanks and associated facilities.

Cheniere outlined the planned expansion in a Feb. 22 request to enter the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's prefiling review process. The company said it would like approval from the commission by September 2025. It anticipated starting construction in late 2025, with a "longstop date" for full in-service in the second half of 2032, although individual trains may enter service sooner, according to the filing (PF23-2).

In a separate statement, Cheniere said it expected the expansion "to benefit from the significant existing infrastructure" at Sabine Pass, adding that the company "contemplates various enhancements to its current capabilities, including optimized ship loading" at the facility's three marine berths. The project would increase LNG carrier calls to an estimated 740 per year from the currently authorized 580s, according to the filing.

Feedgas for the expansion would be delivered by "a combination of new and existing pipelines," Cheniere said.

The Sabine Pass terminal, which currently has six trains capable of producing up to 5 Mt/y of LNG each, is the biggest gas liquefaction and export terminal in the U.S. Feedgas for the terminal represents a major source of U.S. gas demand, averaging nearly 5 Bcf/d in February as it operated close to full capacity to meet strong demand for U.S. LNG supply, S&P Global Commodity Insights data showed.

"As the first and largest LNG export facility in the Lower 48, Sabine Pass has pioneered an industry critical to supplying reliable, flexible, and cleaner-burning natural gas to markets and customers around the world, and we look forward to significantly growing those capabilities through the SPL expansion project," Cheniere CEO Jack Fusco said in the statement.

In addition to three large-scale liquefaction trains, the Sabine Pass expansion project would include a boil-off gas re-liquefaction unit with a production capacity of about 0.75 Mt/y and two full-containment 200,000-cubic meter LNG storage tanks.

Cheniere also operates the three-train, 15-Mt/y Corpus Christi LNG export terminal in Texas, and in June 2022 commercially sanctioned a seven-train expansion at that facility that will add roughly 10 Mt/y of production capacity. The company has also provided a glimpse of a potential further expansion at Corpus Christi as part of plans to expand capacity across the company's two export terminals by more than 30 Mt/y.

S&P Global Commodity Insights reporters Corey Paul and Maya Weber produce content for distribution on Platts Dimensions Pro.