DOE approves plan to export natural gas from Corpus Christi facility

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) gave the go-ahead to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project to non-free trade agreement countries over the next two years.

DOE approved the export of 2.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas from the Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project.

“For the first time in 60 years, the United States is now the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas, and we are now exporting natural gas to 30 nations on five continents,” U.S. Secretary of Energy Rick Perry, said. “Approving short-term LNG exports from projects like Corpus Christi is just one example of how the Administration is pursuing energy dominance and boosting our economy.”

The two-year export term will go into effect on or around Dec. 31, 2018.

The U.S. has exported 1.5 trillion cubic feet of U.S. natural gas since 2016. U.S. LNG has been exported to 30 different locations in Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, North America, and the Caribbean. There are currently two major LNG export projects in operation, Sabine Pass and Dominion Cove Point, which have a combined export capacity of approximately 3.5 Bcf/d.

The Corpus Christi facility is one of four additional large-scale LNG export projects expected to be completed over the next two years. Once these four projects are finished, U.S. LNG export capacity is expected to reach approximately 11 Bcf/d.