Cheniere jumps final regulatory hurdle for LNG export plan

Houston-based Cheniere Energy cleared the final major hurdle toward exporting natural gas when federal regulators on Monday approved the company’s plan to build a plant in southwest Louisiana for liquefying the fuel, The Houston Chronicle reports. The decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission puts Cheniere on track to convert its existing Sabine Pass terminal for receiving liquefied natural gas by 2015—a timeline that would make it the first LNG export facility in the lower 48 states. One operates currently in Alaska. The company aims to export up to 3.5 million tons per year from the facility in Cameron Parish. “Obtaining approval from the FERC is one more milestone for our liquefaction project,” says Cheniere CEO Charif Souki. “We will now finalize the financing arrangements in order to commence construction.” The plant is expected to cost between $4.5 and $5 billion to build, not including financing, and Cheniere also announced Monday it has hired eight financial institutions to help it arrange a $4 billion loan package. Cheniere plans to build the liquefaction plant in two stages, adding 191 acres to the existing terminal’s space. The import terminal went online in 2009, just as U.S. natural gas production surged and killed the need for LNG imports. But the facility will keep its import capability. Now about half a dozen other companies also are pursuing exports to take advantage of the glut of natural gas produced in the United States using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques. Read the full story here.