Cheniere Energy, the largest US LNG exporter, has specified plans for adding 20 million tonnes per annum more to the Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana and further expanding the Corpus Christi plant in Texas. During the fourth quarter, as well as over the 12 months period, Cheniere cashed in on higher margins and soaring volumes of LNG delivered to Europe.
Fourth quarter revenues staged up to $9.1 billion vs $6.5 billion in the final quarter of 2021, while net income totalled $3.9 billion vs $1.4 billion for the final three months in the previous year. Cheniere said the rise was driven by increased margins per million British thermal units of LNG, higher volumes of LNG delivered and, to a lesser extent, portfolio optimization.
“The year 2022 brought the criticality of natural gas and energy security into focus throughout the world, and we are proud to have made FID on Corpus Christi Stage 3 [in June], which will provide much-needed new LNG volumes to the market beginning in late 2025,” Cheniere President and CEO Jack Fusco said.
At Corpus Christi, Cheniere operates three liquefaction trains with 15 mtpa production capacity combined and a further expansion is planned on top of the one already being developed. The recent Stage 3 expansion consists of seven “midscale” trains that will add approximately 10+ mtpa of production capacity, bringing CCL’s total nominal capacity to more than 25 mtpa. In June, Cheniere took financial close on the project and issued full notice to proceed to Bechtel to continue construction. In addition, Cheniere is developing an expansion adjacent to the CCL Stage 3 project with two mid-scale Trains that will add a further 3 mtpa.
On the Sabine Pass expansion, Fusco said the project is designed to add 20 mtpa of production capacity, with EPC works to be carried out by Bechtel. The expansion will comprise three large-scale liquefaction Trains, each with capacity of 6.5 mtpa, a boil-off-gas re-liquefaction unit with output of 750,000 tonnes a year and two 220,000 cubic metres capacity storage tanks.
