Page 5 - NorthAmOil Week 37 2022

NorthAmOil COMMENTARY NorthAmOil

$11.0-11.5bn, up from previous guidance of at this stage, but its plans are underpinned by
$9.8-10.3bn. Its distributable cash flow for the assumptions that global LNG demand will con-
year is projected to come in at $8.1-8.6bn, up tinue to rise steadily until at least 2040 and that
from guidance of $6.9-7.4bn previously. the US has ample supplies to meet that demand
for decades to come.
Capacity additions Cheniere has also continued to sign new
Cheniere’s two liquefaction terminals on the offtake agreements with global buyers in recent
Gulf Coast, Sabine Pass in Louisiana and Cor- months, and each new deal helps bring a further
pus Christi in Texas, currently have a capacity of stage of its expansion plans closer to reality. In
around 30mn tpy and 15mn tpy of LNG respec- its second-quarter earnings release the company
tively. The company had followed a model entail- said it had signed long-term contracts repre-
ing large-scale liquefaction trains, each with senting an aggregate of around 140mn tonnes of
a capacity of 5mn tpy. It is now deviating away LNG up to 2050 since the end of the first quar-
from this with Corpus Christi Stage 3, which ter. However, this figure also includes supply of Under new plans
involves seven mid-scale trains with a combined feedstock gas to Corpus Christi Stage 3, as well
capacity of 10mn tpy that will be added by 2025. as offtake agreements. unveiled on
Subsequently, Cheniere unveiled plans in late Further offtake agreements have also been September 12,
August to add a further two trains to Stage 3. Ini- announced during the third quarter, with Pet-
tially, it was thought that each of those two trains roChina and Thailand’s PTT. Cheniere noted Cheniere could
would add a further 1.64mn tpy of capacity at in the announcement about its deal with Pet-
Corpus Christi. But in its September 12 pres- roChina that half of the volume it had agreed to increase its total
entation, it shows that Trains 8 and 9 at Stage 3 supply was conditional on an FID to build addi-
are expected to account for roughly 5mn tpy of tional liquefaction capacity at Corpus Christi liquefaction
capacity. beyond the first seven trains of Stage 3. capacity to up to
This will take Cheniere’s total liquefaction Thus the company is already planning ahead
capacity to around 60mn tpy. Beyond that, the and using offtake agreements to advance plans 90mn tpy.
company has now started revealing details of for additional liquefaction capacity. If Cheniere’s
its longer-term growth plans, which could see global LNG demand expectations play out, it
it add up to an additional 30mn tpy of capacity. can look forward to finding more buyers, strik-
This would include a fourth stage of expansion ing more supply deals and making its additional
at Corpus Christi LNG, as well as an additional expansion plans a reality. However, it will find
expansion at Sabine Pass LNG. itself in competition with QatarEnergy in par-
ticular, as the state-owned company advances
What next? its own plans to dominate global LNG markets
The company has not disclosed further details through its expansions of the North Field.™

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