11/27/12 15:39:55: Cheniere: U.S. LNG Export Terminal Construction Ahead of Sehedule.
Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) told federal regulators Tuesday that construction is considerably ahead of schedule on what would be the first liquefied natural gas export terminal in the lower United States .
Cheniere, which in April gained complete federal approval for its project to export 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas a day from a terminal on Louisiana's Gulf Coast , is currently the only company in the lower 48 U.S. states to hold government permits to export LNG to countries not part of U.S. free-trade agreements. A boom in natural gas production in the U.S. led to a supply glut that sent prices to a decade-low earlier this year and made U.S. natural gas attractive to buyers in Asia and Europe , where gas prices are much higher.
In its October monthly progress report with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission , Cheniere said construction was six months ahead of schedule for the Sabine Pass export terminal's Train 1, a liquefaction unit originally scheduled to open in 2016. Construction was 11 months ahead of schedule for Train 2, which had been slated to start operating in 2017. Overall, the project is nearly 15% complete.
Barring delays, Cheniere could start exporting LNG out of Sabine Pass in late 2014.
A Cheniere spokesman was not immediately available.
Cheniere expects to start construction of two additional trains in 2013. The Houston -based company has said it is also looking into the possibility of adding a fifth and sixth train to its plans for Sabine Pass , which would bring the site's total liquefaction capacity to about 3 billion cubic feet of gas a day.
Companies seeking to cash in on the low U.S. natural gas prices have filed 18 LNG-export permit applications with the Department of Energy . The government agency suspended further permit approvals earlier this year pending a study on possible economic impacts of shipping natural gas overseas.
Cheniere shares were up 2.2% at $15.62 in late afternoon trading.
Write to Ben Lefebvre at ben.lefebvre@dowjones.com
Corrections & Amplifications
This item was corrected at 5:38 p.m. EDT to show that Train 1 was scheduled to open in 2016 and Train 2 was scheduled to open in 2017. The original incorrectly stated 2015 and 2016, respectively.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-27-12 1635ET
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