March 14, 2022 [Caller Times] – The announcement comes as global demand for energy exports is high in the wake of the Ukraine-Russia conflict
Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi 3 project announced the company signed a contract and gave the green light to an engineering company to move forward with construction and planning.
Virginia-based Bechtel, the engineering company, entered into an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Cheniere for Corpus Christi 3, which releases Bechtel to begin “early engineering, procurement and other site work,” on the expansion project, according to a news release this week announcing the development.
Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi 3 project announced the company signed a contract and gave the green light to an engineering company to move forward with construction and planning.
Virginia-based Bechtel, the engineering company, entered into an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Cheniere for Corpus Christi 3, which releases Bechtel to begin “early engineering, procurement and other site work,” on the expansion project, according to a news release this week announcing the development.
The Houston-based Cheniere is the largest U.S. exporter of liquefied natural gas. It operates export facilities near Gregory and at Sabine Pass in Louisiana.
The Corpus Christi 3 facility, located off State Highway 35, is being developed for seven midscale liquefaction trains. Together, they will be able to produce more than 10 million metric tons of LNG each year.
Three of those trains are operating at Corpus Christi; Trains 1 and 2 were up and running in 2019, and train 3 was approved for service by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in March 2021.
About 750 people are employed and work at the facility, according to Cheniere’s website. Employment figures stand to increase as the project continues to completion.
Why the contract matters
The signing of the contract and go-ahead for Bechtel to do preliminary work mark “important steps” toward Cheniere reaching a final investment decision, or a stage of a project where a company decides to move forward or withhold the project, the news release reads.
Cheniere expects to reach a final investment decision in June.
“We are excited to have the project underway and are focused on the remaining steps required in order to reach (final investment decision),” said Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s president and chief executive officer in the news release.
Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi 3 project announced the company signed a contract and gave the green light to an engineering company to move forward with construction and planning.
Virginia-based Bechtel, the engineering company, entered into an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Cheniere for Corpus Christi 3, which releases Bechtel to begin “early engineering, procurement and other site work,” on the expansion project, according to a news release this week announcing the development.
The Houston-based Cheniere is the largest U.S. exporter of liquefied natural gas. It operates export facilities near Gregory and at Sabine Pass in Louisiana.
The Corpus Christi 3 facility, located off State Highway 35, is being developed for seven midscale liquefaction trains. Together, they will be able to produce more than 10 million metric tons of LNG each year.
Three of those trains are operating at Corpus Christi; Trains 1 and 2 were up and running in 2019, and train 3 was approved for service by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in March 2021.
About 750 people are employed and work at the facility, according to Cheniere’s website. Employment figures stand to increase as the project continues to completion.
Why the contract matters
The signing of the contract and go-ahead for Bechtel to do preliminary work mark “important steps” toward Cheniere reaching a final investment decision, or a stage of a project where a company decides to move forward or withhold the project, the news release reads.
Cheniere expects to reach a final investment decision in June.
“We are excited to have the project underway and are focused on the remaining steps required in order to reach (final investment decision),” said Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s president and chief executive officer in the news release.
However, the final investment decision is coming later than first expected.
FERC approved the construction of Stage 3 in November 2019. Then, the regulatory commission allotted Cheniere five years to complete the project, or until November 2024.
In December, Cheniere asked FERC in a Dec. 8 filing to extend the amount of time it has to put Stage 3 into service until June 2027, citing delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi 3 project announced the company signed a contract and gave the green light to an engineering company to move forward with construction and planning.
Virginia-based Bechtel, the engineering company, entered into an engineering, procurement and construction contract with Cheniere for Corpus Christi 3, which releases Bechtel to begin “early engineering, procurement and other site work,” on the expansion project, according to a news release this week announcing the development.
The Houston-based Cheniere is the largest U.S. exporter of liquefied natural gas. It operates export facilities near Gregory and at Sabine Pass in Louisiana.
The Corpus Christi 3 facility, located off State Highway 35, is being developed for seven midscale liquefaction trains. Together, they will be able to produce more than 10 million metric tons of LNG each year.
Three of those trains are operating at Corpus Christi; Trains 1 and 2 were up and running in 2019, and train 3 was approved for service by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in March 2021.
About 750 people are employed and work at the facility, according to Cheniere’s website. Employment figures stand to increase as the project continues to completion.
The signing of the contract and go-ahead for Bechtel to do preliminary work mark “important steps” toward Cheniere reaching a final investment decision, or a stage of a project where a company decides to move forward or withhold the project, the news release reads.
Cheniere expects to reach a final investment decision in June.
“We are excited to have the project underway and are focused on the remaining steps required in order to reach (final investment decision),” said Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s president and chief executive officer in the news release.
However, the final investment decision is coming later than first expected.
FERC approved the construction of Stage 3 in November 2019. Then, the regulatory commission allotted Cheniere five years to complete the project, or until November 2024.
In December, Cheniere asked FERC in a Dec. 8 filing to extend the amount of time it has to put Stage 3 into service until June 2027, citing delays as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The pandemic “resulted in adverse economic and logistical conditions that slowed commercial progress and precluded” the company from making a timely final investment decision, the company claimed in the FERC filing.
The FERC issued a Dec. 14 notice that the request was received. As of Tuesday, there were no filings indicating whether Cheniere’s request had been granted.
The request from Cheniere asked the federal regulatory commission for a decision by Mar. 30.
Effects of Russia-Ukraine conflict
These developments now have the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which has drastically stirred the global export market. Demand is high — for the LNG market and for exports, generally — as customers in Europe seek to reduce their dependence on Russian natural gas supplies.
Speaking as part of CERAWeek by S&P Global in Houston, an annual gathering of energy industry leaders, Fusco said the company has sold out production from its existing facilities through the 2040s, according to coverage by Bloomberg.
In addition, in a move likely to stir the market further, LNG was listed among commodities banned in the latest wave of US sanctions against Russia announced by President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
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