US LNG exporting giant Cheniere is working to add over 30 million tonnes of capacity at its Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi plants, according to the company’s chief executive Jack Fusco.
Cheniere’s Sabine Pass plant in Louisiana now has six operational trains with a capacity of about 30 mtpa, while the firm recently 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.
“We have a clear line of sight to get Corpus over 30 million tonnes on par with Sabine Pass. With the addition of a few more mid-scale trains as an expansion of Stage III, as well as some debottlenecking and tuning efforts,” Fusco said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Thursday.
Moreover, Cheniere and compatriot engineer Bechtel have completed more than 94 percent of the third jetty project at Sabine Pass as well.
This will increase the maximum number of calls by LNG carriers with a capacity of up to 180,000 cbm at the plant by 180 per year.
“And so in terms of growth plans, we believe that that’s the lowest paying fruit. And it’s expected to be extremely cost effective, and potentially seamless with Bechtel already on site. Additionally, both at Sabine and at Corpus, both of those sites are ripe and ready for much larger expansions,” Fusco said.
“We’re currently working on early-stage developments, of over 30 million tonnes between those two sites,” he said.
Fusco added that the company would provide more details on its growth plans at both Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi later this year.
