Gas exporter Cheniere's terminal project has accomplished a major step forward.
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced on Wednesday that it had cleared Cheniere Energy's Liquified Natural Gas export terminal project in Corpus Christi, Texas for construction. The Commission finalized the environmental impact statement for the project, saying that it found no insurmountable environmental objections to its construction.
Cheniere must still obtain other necessary federal authorizations prior to commencement of construction, the Commission said in a statement on its website. But a permit from the Commission for construction is expected within two months.
The project would enable Cheniere to export 2.1 billion standard cubic feet (63 million cubic meters) per day of liquefied natural gas, and import sufficient liquified natural gas volume to send out 400 million standard cubic feet (12 million cubic meters) per day of natural gas, the U.S. energy regulator said.
At Corpus Christi, Cheniere plans to construct the terminal on a 991-acre site along the northern shore of Corpus Christi Bay at the north end of the La Quinta Channel in San Patricio and Nueces counties. It would include three liquefaction trains, each capable of liquefying about 700,000 cubic feet per day.
This is Cheniere Energy's second project to export liquified natural gas, after its Sabine Pass project in Louisiana gained permit approvals from the U.S. Department of Energy in 2012.
Cheniere has already signed up companies like Korea Gas, BG Group, Total and Centrica to long-term “take-or-pay” contracts that are expected to generate about US$3 billion a year in fee revenue for Cheniere for the next 20 years from gas export operations at the two terminals. With only six export terminals for Liquified Natural Gas operating in the U.S., and fewer than 30 in the world, the project by gas exporter Cheniere is seen as promising by industry analysts.
By Ovunc Kutlu
Anadolu Agency