Cheniere Energy has signed another sales contract for LNG in support of its proposed Corpus Christi Stage 3 project.
The US producer signed an agreement with Glencore, it announced. The trader will take around 0.8 million tonnes per year of LNG from Cheniere Marketing on a free on-board (FOB) basis.
Glencore’s contract will run for 13 years, starting in April 2023. It will pay a price indexed to Henry Hub, plus a fixed liquefaction fee.
“We are pleased to announce this long-term SPA with Glencore, one of the world’s largest producers and marketers of commodities and a significant player in the global LNG market,” said Cheniere president and CEO Jack Fusco.
“This agreement once again reinforces Cheniere’s position as a leading global LNG provider, and we look forward to a successful long-term relationship with Glencore. This SPA further builds upon Cheniere’s commercial momentum, marking another important milestone in contracting our LNG capacity ahead of an FID of Corpus Christi Stage 3, which we expect to occur next year.”
The new LNG project will involve up to seven mid-scale LNG trains, with total nominal capacity of 10mn tpy.
Cheniere signed a sale and purchase agreement with ENN Natural Gas earlier this month. ENN LNG will take 0.9mn tpy, also on an FOB basis, for 13 years. This contract is due to start in July 2022.
Fusco linked the ENN deal to the FID for Corpus Christi Stage 3.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the new project in November 2019. The new phase will be adjacent to the existing three trains at Corpus Christi, bringing total capacity to 25mn tpy. Cheniere had hoped to reach FID on the project in 2020.
Cheniere expects the sixth train at Sabine Pass to reach substantial completion in the first quarter of 2022.