US LNG exporting giant Cheniere reported a surge in its third-quarter earnings due to a strong LNG market, while it also reached substantial completion of the third marine berth at its Sabine Pass LNG terminal.
Cheniere reported consolidated adjusted Ebitda of $2.8 billion and $8.5 billion for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, respectively.
This marked a rise of 164 percent and 140 percent, primarily due to increased margins per MMBtu of LNG and to a lesser extent from increased volumes of LNG delivered, it said.
Also, Cheniere reported a net loss of about $2.4 billion and $2.5 billion for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022.
This compares to about $1.1 billion and $1 billion in the corresponding 2021 periods.
“The unfavorable change for both comparable periods was primarily due to an increase in derivative losses from changes in fair value and settlements of approximately $2.2 billion and $6.0 billion,” Cheniere said.
Revenues rose 177 percent to $8.85 billion in the third quarter and also increased 162 percent in January-September to $24.3 billion.
The company confirmed full year 2022 consolidated adjusted Ebitda guidance of $11.0 – $11.5 billion and full year 2022 distributable cash flow guidance of $8.1 – $8.6 billion.
About 70 percent of LNG cargoes landed in Europe
Cheniere shipped 156 LNG cargoes from its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi terminals in the third quarter and 472 in the January-September, up by 11 percent and 14 percent, respectively.
About 70 percent of these shipments landed in Europe due to high prices and as European countries look to slash reliance on Russian pipeline gas.
Cheniere’s loaded LNG volumes reached 559 trillion British thermal unit (TBtu) in the third quarter, up 12 percent compared to the previous year. In the January-September period, these volumes rose 16 percent to 1,708 TBtu.
Third Sabine Pass jetty
Cheniere and compatriot Bechtel have completed the third jetty project at the six-train 30 mtpa Sabine Pass LNG facility in Louisiana.
The project achieved substantial completion in October, according to Cheniere.
The two firms added the third marine berth and supporting facilities to boost operating flexibility at the Sabine Pass LNG facility.
Moreover, the jetty has the capability to load LNG carriers with a capacity of 125,000-180,000 cubic meters.
It will increase the maximum number of calls by LNG carriers with a capacity of up to 180,000 cbm at Cheniere’s plant by 180 per year.
The operator of the Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi terminals recently revealed plans to increase the company’s liquefaction capacity to about 90 mtpa as part of its “20/20 Vision” long-term capital allocation plan.
Also, Cheniere took a final investment decision on Stage 3 expansion at its Corpus Christi LNG export plant in Texas.
The expansion will add about 10 mtpa to the three-train 15 mtpa Corpus Christi plant.
Cheniere said on Thursday that this project is about 12 percent complete.