curtis williams
Cheniere plans 24 million tons per year LNG plant expansion in Texas Expansion to add four new LNG processing trains Cheniere aims for federal approval by next May
HOUSTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Cheniere Energy, the largest U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter, has submitted an application to build a 24 million tonne-per-year LNG plant at its Corpus Christi, Texas, site, according to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The proposed project is an expansion of Cheniere’s Corpus Christi plant, which currently has a production capacity of 18 million tonnes per year, but with the third stage of expansion currently underway and expected to be completed by the end of 2026, production could soon reach 25 million tonnes per year. If the Phase 4 project is approved, Corpus Christi’s production capacity will eventually increase to 49 million tons per year.
The latest expansion involves the addition of four new LNG processing plants, also known as trains, each expected to produce 6 tons of LNG per year, according to a FERC filing. Cheniere expects the Phase 4 expansion to require 3.3 billion cubic feet of gas per day and hopes to receive federal approval for the project by next May.
In 2025, the United States exported 111 million tons of LNG, according to preliminary data from financial firm LSEG. With an additional 100 tons per year under construction in the United States, with the aim of starting operations between 2027 and 2030, some energy giants fear there could be an LNG glut by 2030.
With the US climate becoming more favorable, Cheniere is competing with Venture Global (VG.N) to become the first US exporter to reach 100 tonnes per year.
Cheniere’s current production capacity is 52 tonnes per year, with a further 8 tonnes under construction. Venture Global’s production capacity is 40 tonnes per year, with a further 28 tonnes under construction.
Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston. Editing: Nathan Crooks and Mark Porter
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