Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P. (“Cheniere Partners”), under its subsidiary Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC (“Sabine Pass”), has initiated a project to include liquefaction services at the Sabine Pass LNG receiving terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. Adding liquefaction capabilities would transform the Sabine Pass terminal into a bi-directional facility capable of liquefying and exporting natural gas in addition to importing and regasifying foreign-sourced LNG. Cheniere Partners expects to leverage existing infrastructure at the terminal to offer customers bi-directional services at attractive pricing. This added service would provide customers with an attractive option to source natural gas supply from the U.S. pipeline grid at prices indexed to Henry Hub.
As currently contemplated, the liquefaction project would be designed and permitted for up to four modular LNG trains, each with a peak processing capacity of up to approximately 0.7 Bcf/d of natural gas and an average liquefaction capacity of approximately 3.5 million tons per annum (“mtpa”).
The initial project phase is anticipated to include two modular trains and the capacity to process on average approximately 1.2 Bcf/d of pipeline quality natural gas. Further expansion would be considered based upon customer interest.
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Cheniere Partners estimates that it can construct liquefaction capacity comparable to liquefaction expansion economics since the Sabine Pass terminal already has many of the needed facilities for an export terminal. Cheniere Partners would use its existing infrastructure, including five storage tanks and two berths at the Sabine Pass terminal, as well as Cheniere Energy Inc.’s 94-mile Creole Trail Pipeline, which would be reconfigured as a bi-directional system. The 853-acre Sabine Pass site is strategically situated to provide export services given its large acreage position, proximity to unconventional gas plays in Louisiana and Texas, and its interconnections with multiple interstate and intrastate pipeline systems.
Cheniere Partners plans to work with Bechtel Oil, Gas and Chemicals, Inc. to design and construct the liquefaction facilities, using the ConocoPhillips Optimized Cascade® liquefaction technology. This proven process has been successfully deployed at several LNG export terminals around the world, and offers a high degree of reliability and control.
Commencement of construction is subject to regulatory approvals and a final investment decision contingent upon Cheniere obtaining satisfactory construction contracts and long-term customer contracts sufficient to underpin financing of the project. Assuming typical project development scenarios, Cheniere anticipates LNG export could commence as early as 2015.
Cheniere Partners initiated the regulatory process in July 2010 by filing a request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to begin the NEPA pre-filing process. Permission was granted on August 4, 2010.
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