This article was first published by Seeking Alpha on January 9, 2015.
By Sarfaraz A. Khan. Research Asst. Iffat Zehra
Houston-based Cheniere Energy (NYSEMKT:LNG) was the first company to receive Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval to export LNG from its Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana. The first two of the six LNG processing plants, or trains, at Sabine Pass could begin operations from as early as the end of this year, and the facility could be fully operational by 2018-19.
At the end of 2014, Cheniere also received FERC's approval to build its second LNG export terminal at Corpus Christi, Texas. The company expects to begin construction this year. Corpus Christi is a three-train development designed to liquefy and ship 13.5 million tons of gas each year and could begin operations from 2018-19.
Corpus Christi was the fifth project to receive the green signal from FERC, the others being Sabine Pass - which represents two projects with four and six trains - Sempra Energy's (NYSE:SRE) Cameron LNG, Freeport LNG and Dominion's (NYSE:D) Cove Point LNG. However, there are three projects that have received Department of Energy authorization to export the gas to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the U.S. - Sabine Pass (first four trains only), Cameron LNG and Freeport LNG. These three are the only projects that are currently under construction in the U.S.
