Sabine Pass expansion gets DOE approval

The Energy Department has issued a final authorization for Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC’s expansion project to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas to countries that do not have a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States.

The Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana is authorized to export additional volumes of LNG up to the equivalent of 1.38 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas for a period of 20 years.

In 2012, Sabine Pass Liquefaction was authorized to export LNG up to the equivalent of 2.2 Bcf/d of natural gas for a period of 20 years.

With this most recent authorization, Sabine Pass Liquefaction, a unit of Cheniere, is authorized to export LNG up to the equivalent of 3.58 Bcf/d of natural gas for a period of 20 years, DOE said in a statement released on Friday.

Federal law generally requires approval of natural gas exports to countries that have an FTA with the United States. For countries that do not have an FTA with the United States, the Natural Gas Act directs the Department of Energy to grant export authorizations unless the Department finds that the proposed exports “will not be consistent with the public interest.”

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LNG World News Staff; Image: Cheniere