The Corpus Christi Stage 3 site is located adjacent to the three liquefaction trains operating or under development at Corpus Christi
Image: The Stage 3 expansion project is being constructed to add up to seven mid-scale liquefaction trains. Photo courtesy of Carlo San/Freeimages.
Cheniere Energy has secured approval from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the construction and operation of the Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion project.
The Stage 3 expansion project is being constructed to add up to seven mid-scale liquefaction trains to increase the total expected nominal production capacity to nearly ten million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG.
The Corpus Christi Stage 3 site is located adjacent to the three liquefaction trains open or under development at Corpus Christi. The Corpus Christi LNG export terminal is located on a 1,000ha site on the La Quinta Channel to the north-east of the Corpus Christi Bay in San Patricio County, Texas.
The combined nominal production capacity of the two projects is expected to be around 25Mtpa.
Cheniere’s president and CEO Jack Fusco said: “We are pleased to receive regulatory approval from the FERC for Corpus Christi Stage 3, a critical milestone on the path to a positive final investment decision.
“Our continued progress on Corpus Christi Stage 3, including today’s regulatory approval and our continued commercial success, is a testament to the global competitiveness of the project and reinforces our confidence in our ability to expand our world-scale liquefaction platform in Corpus Christi.”
The US-based LNG company expects to make a positive final investment decision (FID) on Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion next year. The FID is subject to signing an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract and receiving commercial support for the project.
Cheniere completed commissioning of Corpus Christi LNG Project train 2 in September
In September, Cheniere Energy and Bechtel had achieved substantial completion of the second train of the former’s $15bn (£12.26bn) Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project (Corpus Christi LNG Project) in Texas.
It followed the delivery of the first commissioning cargo from the LNG project in July.
Under previously signed sale and purchase agreements (SPAs), the company is expected to deliver the first commercial cargo from train 2 of the LNG terminal in May 2020 to Électricité de France, Iberdrola, Naturgy Energy Group, Pertamina (Persero), and Woodside Energy Trading Singapore