FERC Clears Cheniere's Sabine Pass Train 4 for Exports

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Cheniere Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:LNG) (Houston, Texas) $2.5 billion Sabine Pass Train 4 liquefied natural gas (LNG) unit in Louisiana reached another milestone last week when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized the start of exports from the facility.

FERC granted Cheniere its request on October 5 to begin service for liquefaction and export activities from Train 4.

"Based on commission staff inspections and review of the commissioning activities, Sabine Pass has demonstrated that the above-mentioned facilities have been constructed in accordance with commission approval and applicable standards and can be expected to operate safely as designed," wrote Rich McGuire, FERC director of the Division of Gas - Environment and Engineering.

First LNG from Cheniere's $2.5 billion Train 4 at Sabine Pass was achieved in July. The 4.5 million-ton-per-year train is expected to be fully in service by the end of the year. Cheniere is developing up to six trains at Sabine Pass, each with a nominal production of 4.5 million tons per year. Train 5 is under construction, and Train 6 is being commercialized and has regulatory approvals. For more information on Train 4, see Industrial Info's project report.

In August, Cheniere raised its earnings guidance for the fiscal year amid growing LNG exports. For related information, see August 9, 2017, article - Cheniere Raises Earnings Guidance for 2017 as LNG Exports Grow.

At Corpus Christi, Texas, Cheniere is developing up to three liquefaction trains, each with a nominal production capacity of 4.5 million tons per year.

Other U.S. companies are progressing with their own LNG export projects. Dominion Energy Incorporated's (NYSE:D) (Richmond, Virginia) $4 billion Cove Point LNG production and export plant in Lusby, Maryland, is expected to be completed this quarter. The plant will be able to liquefy 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas to produce 5.25 million tons per year of LNG. Dominion has been granted permission to export LNG to countries without a free trade agreement with the U.S. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report, and August 3, 2017, article - Dominion Energy: Cove Point LNG Facility 95% Complete.

The Energy Information Administration has projected gross LNG exports to average 2.8 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2018, as Sabine Pass and Cove Point ramp up operations, and two new LNG facilities come online. The new facilities include trains 1 and 2 of Sempra Energy's (NYSE:SRE) (San Diego, California) Cameron LNG liquefaction plant in Hackberry, Louisiana, and Freeport LNG Development LP's (Houston, Texas) Train 1 in Freeport, Texas. For more information on Sempra's Cameron project, see Industrial Info's project report; also see Industrial Info's project report on Freeport LNG's Train 1.

Meanwhile, Veresen Incorporated (TSX:VSN) (Calgary, Alberta) filed a new application with FERC in September for a proposed LNG export terminal in Coos Bay, Oregon. Jordan Cove would produce up to 7.8 million tons of LNG per year. FERC denied an earlier application for the project. For more information, see Industrial Info's project report and September 25, 2017, article - Veresen, Williams Partners File Again with FERC for Jordan Cove LNG Export Project.

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