Cheniere Energy, the largest U.S. LNG producer and the world’s second-largest LNG operator, plans to ship its first cargo from its Corpus Christi Liquefaction (CCL) Stage 3 project by year’s end.

“Bechtel Energy continues to progress construction on Stage 3 on an accelerated schedule. The project stood at over 55% completion at the end of March,” Cheniere President and CEO Jack Fusco said during the company’s May 3 first-quarter 2024 webcast.

“I remain optimistic that together with Bechtel, we will achieve first LNG by the end of 2024 and bring all seven trains online before the end of 2026,” Fusco said during his opening remarks.

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To date, Cheniere has funded about $3.5 billion in capex for CCL Stage 3. Fusco said more than 3,000 workers in Corpus are dedicated to the project— a figure that could reach 4,000 by mid-year.

Additionally, Fusco said Cheniere continued to work closely with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to move forward on the permitting process for midscale trains eight and nine at Corpus Christi. Cheniere still has an eye on making a final investment decision on those trains in 2025.

“We expect to receive our environmental assessment soon and remain confident that we will receive all necessary regulatory approvals to be able to sanction the project in 2025, and for our major growth project at Sabine Pass, the SPL Expansion Project,” Fusco said.

Boosting Corpus capacity

Cheniere owns nine liquefaction trains across its two Gulf Coast plants—Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass—with a total production capacity of 45 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). Those production levels are expected to remain steady in 2024, Cheniere said in its May 3 first-quarter 2024 press release.

In Corpus Christi, Cheniere operates three liquefaction trains with a production capacity of 15 mtpa.

Cheniere’s CCL Stage 3 will add seven midscale trains and more than 10 mtpa of new capacity, while a second development will add two midscale trains, eight and nine, in a location adjacent to Stage 3. The two new trains will add 2.8 mtpa of capacity, taking production capacity in Corpus Christi up to 27.8 mtpa.