Cheniere, Endesa sign Corpus Christi LNG deal

April 2, 2014
Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy Inc., has signed an LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Spanish multinational Endesa Generacion SA in which Endesa has agreed to purchase 1.5 million tonnes/year of LNG upon the commencement of operations from the LNG export facility under development near Corpus Christi, Tex.

Corpus Christi Liquefaction LLC, a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy Inc., has signed an LNG sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Spanish multinational Endesa Generacion SA in which Endesa has agreed to purchase 1.5 million tonnes/year of LNG upon the commencement of operations from the LNG export facility under development near Corpus Christi, Tex.

The Corpus Christi liquefaction project is being designed and permitted for as many as three trains, with aggregate design production capacity of 13.5 million tpy of LNG.

Endesa under the SPA will purchase LNG on an FOB basis for a purchase price indexed to the monthly Henry Hub price plus a fixed component. LNG will be loaded onto Endesa's vessels. The SPA includes a term of 20 years commencing upon the date of first commercial delivery and an extension option of as many as 10 years. Deliveries are expected to occur as early as 2018.

“Endesa is the second foundation customer for our Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project being developed in Texas,” said Charif Souki, Cheniere chairman and chief executive officer. “We continue to work towards finalizing additional commercial agreements and are nearing completion of the regulatory process, having recently received our scheduling notice from the FERC. We expect to complete all necessary steps to reach a final investment decision and begin construction by early 2015.”

Cheniere also is in the midst of a liquefaction project at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal adjacent to existing regasification facilities for up to six LNG trains, each of which will have a design production capacity of 4.5 million tpy (OGJ Online, May 30, 2013).