Cheniere working locally to meet global need for LNG

Published 12:28 am Friday, April 15, 2022

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CAMERON, Louisiana — As the second largest liquefied natural gas facility in the world, Cheniere has the eyes of the world upon them.

Located in Cameron, Louisiana, the Sabine Pass LNG export facility has six trains in operation and has produced and exported more than 1,550 cargoes of liquefied natural gas.

As oil and gas prices have climbed with the war in Ukraine, thoughts have turned to three major incremental suppliers of LNG: Qatar, the U.S. Gulf Coast and arctic Russia.

It was one of several topics discussed during a Thursday news conference as media from international companies joined to watch a loaded customer vessel, Isabella, depart the facility. Several special tugboats helped maneuver the tanker from one of the berths and a captain with Sabine Pilots sailed it away.

The destination for the tanker was not provided.

Anatol Feygin, Cheniere executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, was asked if there is a need to up the available supply to help Europe.

Commercially, with one of the large-scale resources no longer available or not as readily available, the other resources will most likely fill in, Feygin said.

Anatol Feygin, Cheniere executive vice-president and chief commercial officer, spoke to news media on Thursday. (Mary Meaux/The Leader)

“We do think that, properly executed, the U.S. Gulf Coast is an attractive solution,” he said. “We’ve delivered our projects ahead of schedule, under budget, and as I mentioned earlier, have performed lively in supporting all of our customers. So, we think that is an attractive piece of the equation going forward.”

As for acquiring or swapping Russian-origin LNG, that’s not on the agenda for Cheniere. Feygin said the company does not want to jeopardize its track record by entering into such transactions where they could find themselves afoul of regulations and find themselves under sanctions.

Cheniere is the largest LNG supplier to Europe with 75 percent of its production shipped there in the first quarter of 2022, according to a report from the company.

Growth

Currently, Cheniere Sabine Pass is working on a third berth to be used to load LNG vessels for export and will be sized to accommodate vessels with a capacity of 125,000 to 180,000 cubic meters, according to information from the company.

Feygin said the Corpus Christi site is in the process of expansion, and there is room for growth — 500 acres worth — should they find the right commercial support in the future.

— By Mary Meaux