EIA: Sempra Energy Ships First LNG Cargo From Cameron LNG facility

Sempra Energy, the majority owner of the Cameron liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Hackberry, Louisiana, recently shipped its first LNG cargo. The facility is the fourth one in the United States to enter service since 2016, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Following the completion of Phase 1 of the Cameron LNG project, U.S. baseload operational LNG-export capacity increased to about 4.8 Bcfd (0.14 X 10⁹ m³/d).  Phase 1 of the project included three liquefaction trains that will export a projected 12 million tpy (10.8 million T/y) of LNG exports or about 1.7 Bcfd (48.1 X 10⁶ m³).

Train 1 is currently producing LNG, and the first LNG shipment departed the facility aboard the ship Marvel Crane. The facility will continue to ship commissioning cargos until it receives approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to begin commercial shipments. Trains 2 and 3 are expected to come online in the first and second quarters of 2020, according to Sempra Energy.

Cameron LNG has regulatory approval to expand the facility through two additional phases, which involve the construction of two additional liquefaction units that would increase the facility’s LNG capacity to about 3.5 Bcfd (99.1 X 10⁶ m³d). These additional phases do not have final investment decisions, the EIA said.

Cameron LNG will be the fourth U.S. LNG-export facility placed into service since February 2016. LNG exports rose steadily in 2016 and 2017 as liquefaction trains at the Sabine Pass LNG-export facility entered service, with additional increases through 2018 as units entered service at Cove Point LNG and Corpus Christi LNG. Monthly exports of LNG exports reached more than 4 Bcfd (0.11 X 10⁹ m³/d) for the first time in January 2019, according to the EIA.