Petróleo Brasileiro SA (Petrobras) has agreed to buy 0.8 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Cheniere Energy Inc for 22 years.
“The contracting of long-term volumes reflects Petrobras’ strategy to reduce exposure to the volatility of the LNG spot market, strengthens the risk management of the natural gas portfolio and increases flexibility and security to meet contracts”, state-owned Petrobras said in an online statement Tuesday.
Cheniere chair, president and chief executive Jack Fusco said separately, “This agreement once again reinforces Cheniere’s position as a leading global LNG provider, while providing additional commercial support and fixed fee cash flow visibility to underpin further brownfield liquefaction capacity growth”.
The Houston, Texas-based company will supply the LNG to Petrobras free on board.
Cheniere Expansion
In one of Cheniere’s two LNG projects, contractor Bechtel Energy Inc turned over last month the seventh and last train of Corpus Christi Liquefaction (CCL) Stage 3 in Texas. The first train had already begun production December 2024, according to Cheniere.
“In total, the project expands Cheniere’s LNG production capacity by over 20 percent, to approximately 56 million tonnes per annum”, Cheniere said in a press release August 31.
“With the substantial completion of CCL Stage 3, Cheniere and Bechtel have again delivered a major LNG project safely, on budget and ahead of schedule, solidifying our track record of excellence in project execution”, Fusco said.
The media release also said Cheniere has reached 5,000 LNG cargo exports. “Since the production of its first LNG cargo in 2016, Cheniere has now supplied more than 340 million tonnes of LNG to markets worldwide, and the company’s LNG platform has grown to represent over 10 percent of total global LNG capacity”, Cheniere said.
Earlier this year Cheniere awarded a lump-sum turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract to Bechtel for phase 1 of the Sabine Pass LNG Expansion Project. It also gave Bechtel a “limited notice to proceed” to begin early engineering and procurement.
The project is designed to add up to three “large-scale” liquefaction trains with a combined capacity of about 20 MMtpa to the existing terminal. The current facility consists of Trains 1-6. It began operating 2016 and shipped over 3,460 cargoes totaling about 240 million metric tons as of July 2026, according to Cheniere.
“Inclusive of estimated debottlenecking, phase 1 has an expected total production capacity of over six MMtpa of LNG”, Cheniere said in a press release May 28.
“Phase 1 is commercially underpinned by long-term agreements with creditworthy counterparties, and a positive final investment decision (FID) on Phase 1 is subject to, among other things, receipt of necessary regulatory approvals and an acceptable financing arrangement.
“The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission application for authorization to site, construct and operate the SPL Expansion Project, as well as the Department of Energy application authorizing the export of LNG to non-free trade agreement countries, remain pending. Cheniere Partners expects to reach FID on Phase 1 by early 2027”.
Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG
Petrobras recently signed up for about 0.8 MMtpa of LNG from another United States developer for 20 years. The agreement with Sempra Infrastructure, part of utility holding company Sempra, will be fulfilled by the under-construction Port Arthur LNG phase 2 project in Jefferson County, Texas.
“We are pleased to welcome Petrobras as the first South American company in our LNG customer portfolio, marking an important milestone for Sempra Infrastructure’s growing LNG business”, Sempra Infrastructure CEO Justin Bird said September 14.
Last year Port Arthur LNG phase 2 marked the resumption of federal permitting for LNG export to countries without a free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S., following a pause by the Biden administration.
Phase 2, which consists of trains 3 and 4, is authorized to export the equivalent of 698 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually, or about 13.5 MMtpa of LNG according to Sempra, to FTA and non-FTA countries on a non-additive basis. Sempra received the FTA portion of the permit in 2020.
Phase 1, which consists of trains 1 and 2, had received a permit to export the same volume to FTA and non-FTA countries.
“Port Arthur LNG phase 1, which is also currently under construction, is expected to achieve commercial operations at or near the end of 2027 and in 2028 for trains 1 and 2, respectively, and Port Arthur LNG Phase 2 is expected to achieve commercial operations in 2030 and 2031 for trains 3 and 4, respectively”, Sempra Infrastructure said. “Future phases are also in the early development stage.
“Beyond its expanded liquefaction capacity, Port Arthur LNG will benefit from strategic access to abundant U.S. natural gas resource basins, robust midstream connectivity and scalable infrastructure”.
source: rigzone.com