Corpus Christi Liquefaction, Corpus Christi Liquefaction Stage IV, and Cheniere Marketing request that DOE’s Hydrocarbons and Geothermal Energy Office grant long-term, multi-contract authorization in an amount up to the equivalent of approximately 1,200 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year from the proposed project, according to a recent filing.

Because the CCL Stage 4 project is not anticipated to commence commissioning of the
first of the four proposed LNG trains until early 2032, DOE’s recent practice of granting export authorizations from the date of first commercial export through December 31, 2050, would result in an export term of less than 20 years for each of the four trains, Cheniere said.

Thus, this would not allow sufficient time for both construction of the CCL Stage 4 project and the completion of a 20-year term for natural gas supply and/or LNG export contracts, Cheniere’s units said.

Accordingly, Cheniere’s units request that DOE grant the export authorization requested for a term of 25 years for exports to both FTA and non-FTA nations.

The requested term would allow for 20-year contracts to be entered into for exports from each proposed train, as commissioning and operation of the four trains is anticipated to occur sequentially over an approximately three-year period, Cheniere said.

Cheniere’s units request that DOE issue the authorizations by no later than May 2027 for the authorization to export to non-FTA nations.

Corpus Christi LNG expansions

Last month, Cheniere filed an application with the US FERC seeking approval to build four additional liquefaction trains and related infrastructure at its Corpus Christi LNG terminal in Texas.

The anticipated production capacity for the CCL Stage 4 project is projected to be approximately 6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) per train, for a maximum aggregate of approximately 24 mtpa.

In June 2025, Cheniere announced plans for the CCL Stage IV expansion project to further boost capacity at the Corpus Christi facility.

After that, Cheniere also sought approval from FERC to initiate the environmental pre-filing review.

Cheniere’s Corpus Christi liquefaction terminal consists of three trains, each with a capacity of about five mtpa, while Cheniere is also building the Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion project, which includes seven midscale trains, each with an expected liquefaction capacity of about 1.49 mtpa.

This expansion is expected to be completed this year as Cheniere already launched commercial operations at five trains.

In addition, Cheniere made a positive final investment decision last year to build two more midscale trains under the Midscale Trains 8 & 9 project.

Upon completion of these expansion projects, which are under construction, and together with expected debottlenecking, the Corpus Christi LNG terminal is expected to reach over 30 mtpa in total liquefaction capacity later this decade.