Cheniere’s Corpus Christi expansion project nears first LNG

According to a filing with the US FERC dated December 20, Corpus Christi Liquefaction requests to introduce FEED gas and refrigerants to Train 1 cold end (String 1).

“CCL is requesting approval of this request on the earliest date possible,” it said.

A separate filing on December 20 shows that FERC approved CCL’s request to continue commissioning the LNG rundown line by introducing hazardous fluids for the Stage 3 project.

Last month, FERC granted CCL’s request to introduce hydrocarbons to Train 1 fuel gas and hot oil systems for the Stage 3 project.

Cheniere CEO Jack Fusco said during Cheniere’s third-quarter call the company expects to start introducing gas into the first train of the Corpus Christi expansion project in the coming weeks.

He said that “first gas is an important execution milestone.”

“And from a timing perspective, with that milestone occurring soon, it is consistent with the production of first LNG by the end of the year,” he said.

CCL’s October construction report filed with FERC revealed that the overall project completion rate for Stage 3 is 73.2 percent.

Cheniere’s Corpus Christi plant currently liquefies natural gas at three operational trains, each with a capacity of about 5 mtpa.

In June 2022, Cheniere made the final investment decision on the Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion project, worth about $8 billion.

Compatriot Bechtel officially started construction on the project in October of the same year.

The project includes building seven midscale trains, each with an expected liquefaction capacity of about 1.49 mtpa.

In addition to this expansion, Cheniere plans to build two more liquefaction trains as part of the third expansion phase at the Corpus Christi plant.

Cheniere aims to take a final investment decision on this project in 2025.