Cheniere completes Corpus Christi Stage 3 LNG expansion project

Aug 31 (Reuters) - LNG exporter Cheniere Energy LNG.N said on Monday it had substantially completed its Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion project in Texas, increasing its liquefied natural gas production capacity by more than 20% to 56 million tons per annum (mtpa).

The expansion strengthens Cheniere's position as the largest U.S. LNG exporter at a time when the industry is adding capacity to meet growing demand from overseas markets.

Here are more details:

• The company said the project reached substantial completion this month after contractor Bechtel Energy handed over the seventh and final liquefaction train to Cheniere.

• Cheniere had issued Bechtel full notice to proceed on the project in June 2022, while first LNG production from the first train was achieved in December 2024.

• Corpus Christi LNG has been operating as an export terminal since 2018. Cheniere is also constructing an expansion project adjacent to the Corpus Christi Stage 3 Project for two additional trains, both of which received a final investment decision in 2025.

• Shares of Cheniere, the largest U.S. producer of the super-chilled gas, rose 1.65% premarket.

• Separately, the company said it exported its 5,000th LNG cargo this month from its Sabine Pass facility in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, with the shipment bound for Asia.

• The Sabine Pass LNG terminal has liquefaction facilities with a total production capacity of over 30 mtpa of LNG in operation, with the phase 1 expansion project expected to add 6 mtpa of capacity.

• Cheniere said it has supplied more than 340 million tons of LNG worldwide since shipping its first cargo in 2016.

(Reporting by Varun Sahay in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas)

((Varun.Sahay@thomsonreuters.com;))