June 25, 2025 [Reuters]- Cheniere Energy said on Tuesday it approved the final investment decision for the expansion of the Corpus Christi liquefied natural gas project, lifting shares by 2.4% in afternoon trading.

Bechtel Energy has been asked to proceed with construction of the projects, CCL Midscale Trains 8 & 9, the company added.

Cheniere plans to double its current LNG production to 90 million metric tonnes per annum by building more export facilities at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi.

Additionally, the company said on Tuesday it has been developing further brownfield liquefaction capacity expansions at both the Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass terminals.

It expects to execute the plan in a phased manner, starting with initial single-train expansions at each site, if completed, would grow its LNG platform to up to about 75 mtpa of capacity by the early 2030s.

The United States is the world’s largest exporter of liquefied natural gas and commercial activity in the sector gained momentum after President Donald Trump lifted a moratorium on new LNG export permits soon after taking office in January.

In February, Cheniere had said it would aggressively pursue new regulatory permits to expand capacity.

Cheniere said on Tuesday it expects to deploy more than $25 billion of available cash through 2030 toward growth, share repurchases, balance sheet management and dividends.

It also raised its run-rate LNG production capacity forecast to be between nearly 60 mtpa and 63 mtpa from about 54 mtpa and 57 mtpa previously.

“While the CCL expansion may have been anticipated, we see the confidence in future growth and superior long-term capital allocation flexibility as well ahead of expectations,” said J.P. Morgan analyst Jeremy Tonet.