NO. 1: Cheniere Energy Inc. expects to produce first LNG at its Corpus Christi LNG (CCL) expansion project in South Texas by the end of this year. The company also is planning to introduce natural gas to Train 1 in two months, management said Thursday.
Management said the company has energized the Train 1 liquefaction and utility substations and started regulatory filings in preparation for commissioning. The CCL Stage 3 expansion project would add seven trains and 10 million metric tons/year (mmty) of capacity to the existing 15 mmty facility. All seven trains are expected to be online by 2026.
Plans for two more trains that would add another 3 mmty at the site received a positive environmental assessment from federal regulators in June. Cheniere expects to sanction the Midscale Trains 8 & 9 project next year.
NO. 2: Excelerate Energy Inc. said Wednesday it’s developing new liquefied natural gas import terminals in Alaska and Vietnam.
The company said it is in talks with local utilities in Southcentral Alaska to develop a floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) in the lower Cook Inlet region south of Anchorage. The import terminal would help fill the void left by declining local natural gas production. The company is aiming to start commercial operations in 2028.
Excelerate also said it signed an agreement with a private developer in Vietnam to develop an onshore regasification terminal in the northern part of the country. The terminal, sited for Haiphong, would be the region’s first. It would have an import capacity of 1.2 mmty, and the first phase could come online in 2027.
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Excelerate operates or is developing 11 FSRUs worldwide that represent 25% of global floating import capacity. It delivers LNG to those terminals as well. It would supply the super-chilled fuel to the Vietnam and Alaska projects.
NO. 3: The Arctic LNG 2 export terminal in Russia’s Far North has shipped its first cargo, despite Western sanctions designed to stymie operations.
According to Kpler, the Pioneer LNG tanker docked at the facility on Aug. 1. Kpler said it was the first instance of “signal spoofing” in the LNG market, a tactic of manipulating a ship’s identification system to send false information about its location. The firm noted that the strategy has been widely used in the oil sector to skirt sanctions.
“Pioneer entered a position pattern similar to oil tankers during spoofing events, indicating likely deceitful behavior,” said Kpler’s Petar Todorov, director of Data Science, Commodities & Maritime. He added that a flaring event was detected at the facility, which started up last December, indicating activity at the site.
Kpler said the Pioneer vessel is part of a so-called shadow fleet, reflecting “Russia’s strategy of using older ships with dubious ownership to navigate sanctions.” Kpler tracking data showed the vessel was in the North Atlantic on Thursday and appeared to be headed for Europe, which has taken in more LNG from Russia as U.S. cargoes have increasingly headed to Asia to take advantage of higher prices.
