Cheniere’s Corpus Christi gets LNG export approval

The Energy Department said it has issued a final authorization for Cheniere’s Corpus Christi liquefaction project to export LNG to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the United States.

The Corpus Christi liquefaction project in Texas is authorized to export LNG up to the equivalent of 2.1 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas for a period of 20 years, DOE said in its order.

The development of U.S. natural gas resources is having a transformative impact on the U.S. energy landscape, helping to improve the energy security while spurring economic development and job creation around the country. This increase in domestic natural gas production is expected to continue, with the Energy Information Administration forecasting a record average production rate of 72.4 Bcf/d in 2015.

The Corpus Christi liquefaction project will have a capacity of approximately 15 mtpa of LNG through three liquefaction trains. It will include three 160,000 m3 LNG tanks capable of storing 10.1 Bcf, and will have a maximum continuous regasification rate of 2.6 Bcf/d.