February 26, 2016 [OPIS] - In the next few days, Brazil's state-controlled Petrobras will receive its first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced in the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Mexico, the company announced Wednesday.
The LNG tanker Asia Vision, chartered by Cheniere Marketing LLC, was loaded Wednesday at the Sabine Pass Terminal in Louisiana with 160,000 cubic meters of LNG, equivalent to 96 million cbm of natural gas. The fuel will be taken to Petrobras’ regasification terminal in All Saints’ Bay in the state of Bahia.
The commercial operation involves Cheniere Energy Partners LP, a Houston-based company that is building seven natural gas liquefaction facilities in the Gulf of Mexico. This is the first shipment of LNG produced by the company and also the first shipment of LNG produced in the continental United States.
Following regasification at the terminal in Bahia, the fuel will be pumped into Petrobras’ network of gas pipelines to supply Brazil’s domestic market, mainly for use in thermal power plants.
The natural gas was processed and liquefied for shipment by Cheniere at an industrial facility built to make use of the abundant gas in the U.S. market following the shale gas revolution.
“Through this purchase, Petrobras is diversifying its portfolio of suppliers, making Brazil’s supply of natural gas more flexible and secure, and establishing an important commercial partnership in the Atlantic Basin,” Petrobras said.
Neal Shear, chairman of the board and interim CEO of Cheniere Energy Partners, said in a statement Wednesday, “Today we will finish loading the first commissioning cargo of LNG from our Sabine Pass LNG terminal. This historic event opens a new chapter for the country in energy trade and is a significant milestone for Cheniere as we prepare Train 1 for commercial operations.”
Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Sabine Pass LNG LP, Cheniere Energy Partners owns 100% of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal located on the Sabine-Neches Waterway less than four miles from the Gulf Coast.
The Sabine Pass LNG terminal includes existing infrastructure of five LNG storage tanks with capacity of approximately 16.9 billion cubic feet equivalent (Bcfe), two docks that can accommodate vessels with nominal capacity of up to 266,000 cbm, and vaporizers with regasification capacity of approximately 4.0 Bcf/d.
Through its wholly owned subsidiary Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline LP, Cheniere Energy Partners also owns a 94-mile pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with a number of large interstate pipelines.
