Sabine Pass train 4 may start exports by July

The US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) today authorized Cheniere Energy to introduce fuel gas into the fourth liquefaction train at the Sabine Pass LNG export terminal in Louisiana.

That likely means train 4 would start producing LNG in about six to eleven weeks, or early May to mid-June, based on the schedules for the first three trains at Sabine Pass. Train 4 likely would export its first cargo two to three months after it begins producing LNG, or July to September, according to an Argus analysis of the timeline for previous trains.

Fuel gas is used to operate the liquefaction units but is not used to produce LNG. Cheniere must file a separate application to introduce feed gas into train 4.

Cheniere has said that train 4 is expected to come on line in the second half of this year. The domestic gas and international LNG industries are closely watching the ramp-up of train 4 as the unit would significantly increase gas intake at Sabine Pass and provide additional cargoes that could be sold in the spot market. Each train at Sabine Pass typically exports about one cargo a week.

Cheniere is building five liquefaction trains at the $20bn Sabine Pass facility and two at its $10bn Corpus Christi LNG export project in Texas. Each train will have peak capacity of 5mn t/yr, equivalent to about 694mn cf/d (19.6mn m³/d) of gas, and baseload capacity of 4.5mn t/yr.

The first three trains at Sabine Pass have been operating at about peak capacity since 12 March, with gas intake at the facility averaging about 2.2 Bcf/d since that time. Train 4 would increase Sabine Pass gas intake by 33pc.