Cheniere Energy, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily engaged in LNG-related businesses.
The company provides clean, secure and affordable LNG to integrated energy companies, utilities and energy trading companies around the world. The LNG the company produces is shipped all over the world, converted back into natural gas (called ‘regasification’) and then transported via pipeline to homes and businesses and used as an energy source that is essential for heating, cooking,...
Cheniere Energy, Inc. operates as an energy infrastructure company primarily engaged in LNG-related businesses.
The company provides clean, secure and affordable LNG to integrated energy companies, utilities and energy trading companies around the world. The LNG the company produces is shipped all over the world, converted back into natural gas (called ‘regasification’) and then transported via pipeline to homes and businesses and used as an energy source that is essential for heating, cooking, other industrial uses and back up for intermittent energy sources.
The company is the largest producer of LNG in the United States and is the second largest LNG operator globally, based on the total production capacity of its liquefaction facilities, which totaled approximately 45 mtpa as of December 31, 2024.
The company owns and operates a natural gas liquefaction and export facility located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, at Sabine Pass (the ‘Sabine Pass LNG Terminal’), one of the largest LNG production facilities in the world, through its ownership interest in and management agreements with CQP. As of December 31, 2024, the company owned 100% of the general partner interest, a 48.6% limited partner interest, and 100% of the incentive distribution rights of CQP. The Sabine Pass LNG Terminal has six operational Trains, for a total production capacity of approximately 30 mtpa of LNG (the ‘SPL Project’). The Sabine Pass LNG Terminal also has operational regasification facilities that include five LNG storage tanks with an aggregate capacity of approximately 17 Bcfe, and vaporizers with regasification capacity of approximately 4 Bcf/d, as well as three marine berths. The company also owns and operates through CQP a 94-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal with several large interstate and intrastate pipelines (the ‘Creole Trail Pipeline’).
Additionally, the company owns and operates a natural gas liquefaction and export facility located near Corpus Christi, Texas (the ‘Corpus Christi LNG Terminal’) through CCL, which has natural gas liquefaction facilities consisting of three operational Trains for a total production capacity of approximately 15 mtpa of LNG, three LNG storage tanks with an aggregate capacity of approximately 10 Bcfe, and two marine berths. The company is constructing an expansion of the Corpus Christi LNG Terminal (the ‘Corpus Christi Stage 3 Project’), consisting of seven midscale Trains with an expected total production capacity of over 10 mtpa of LNG. The company also owns and operates, through CCP, an approximately 21-mile natural gas supply pipeline that interconnects the Corpus Christi LNG Terminal with several large interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines (the ‘Corpus Christi Pipeline’, and together with the existing assets at the Corpus Christi LNG Terminal and the Corpus Christi Stage 3 Project, the ‘CCL Project’).
The company's long-term counterparty arrangements form the foundation of its business and provide it with significant, stable, long-term cash flows, and include SPAs, in which its customers are generally required to pay a fixed fee with respect to the contracted volumes irrespective of their election to cancel or suspend deliveries of LNG cargoes, and IPM agreements, in which a gas producer sells natural gas to the company on a global LNG or natural gas index price, less a fixed liquefaction fee, shipping, and other costs. The SPAs also have a variable fee component, which is primarily indexed to Henry Hub and generally structured to cover the cost of natural gas purchases, transportation, and liquefaction fuel consumed to produce LNG. Since the company procures most of its feedstock for LNG production from the U.S., the structure of these contracts helps limit its exposure to fluctuations in the U.S. natural gas prices. Through its SPAs and IPM agreements currently in effect, with approximately 15 years of weighted average remaining life as of December 31, 2024, the company had contracted approximately 95% of the total anticipated production from the SPL Project and the CCL Project (collectively, the ‘Liquefaction Projects’) through the mid-2030s, excluding volumes from contracts with terms less than 10 years and volumes that are contractually subject to additional liquefaction capacity beyond what is in construction or operation. LNG produced by the Liquefaction Projects that is not contracted under long-term contracts is available for Cheniere Marketing, the company's integrated marketing function, to sell in the global market under spot sales or other short-term agreements.
The company remains focused on safety, operational excellence, and customer satisfaction. Increasing demand for LNG has allowed it to expand its liquefaction infrastructure in a financially disciplined manner. The company has increased available liquefaction capacity at its Liquefaction Projects as a result of debottlenecking and other optimization projects. The company holds significant land positions at both the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal and the Corpus Christi LNG Terminal, which provide opportunities for further liquefaction capacity expansion. In March 2023, certain of the company's subsidiaries submitted an application with the FERC under the Natural Gas Act of 1938, as amended (the ‘NGA’), for an expansion adjacent to the CCL Project consisting of two midscale Trains with an expected total production capacity of approximately 3 mtpa of LNG (the ‘CCL Midscale Trains 8 & 9 Project’), for which a positive Environmental Assessment from the FERC was received in June 2024.
Additionally, the company is developing an expansion adjacent to the SPL Project with a total production capacity of up to approximately 20 mtpa of LNG, inclusive of estimated debottlenecking opportunities (the ‘SPL Expansion Project’). In February 2024, certain subsidiaries of CQP submitted an application to the FERC under the NGA for authorization to site, construct, and operate the SPL Expansion Project, as well as an application to the DOE requesting authorization to export LNG to FTA countries and non-FTA countries, both of which applications exclude debottlenecking. In October 2024, the authorization from the DOE to export LNG to FTA countries was received. The development of the CCL Midscale Trains 8 & 9 Project, the SPL Expansion Project, or other projects, including infrastructure projects in the support of natural gas supply and LNG demand among other things, acceptable commercial and financing arrangements before the company makes a positive FID.
Business Strategy
The company’s primary business strategy is to be a full-service LNG provider to worldwide end-use customers.
The key elements of the company's strategy include safely, efficiently, and reliably operating and maintaining its assets; procuring natural gas and pipeline transport capacity to its facilities; providing value to its customers through destination flexibility, options not to lift cargoes, and diversity of price and geography; continuing to secure long-term customer contracts to support its planned expansion, including the FID of potential expansion projects beyond the Corpus Christi Stage 3 Project; completing its construction projects safely, on-time, and on-budget; maximizing the production of LNG to serve its customers; and strategically identifying actionable and economic environmental solutions.
Business
As of February 14, 2025, the company shipped approximately 3,930 cumulative LNG cargoes totaling approximately 270 million tonnes of LNG that have been produced, loaded, and exported from the Liquefaction Projects. The company's LNG has been shipped to 41 countries and regions around the world.
Sabine Pass LNG Terminal
Liquefaction Facilities and Expansion Project
The Sabine Pass LNG Terminal is one of the largest LNG production facilities in the world with six Trains, five storage tanks, and three marine berths. In February 2024, certain subsidiaries of CQP submitted an application to the FERC under the NGA for authorization to site, construct, and operate the SPL Expansion Project, as well as an application to the DOE requesting authorization to export LNG to FTA countries and non-FTA countries, both of which applications exclude debottlenecking. In October 2024, the authorization from the DOE to export LNG to FTA countries was received for the SPL Expansion Project.
Natural Gas Supply, Transportation, and Storage
SPL has secured natural gas feedstock for the SPL Project through long-term natural gas supply agreements, including an IPM agreement. SPL Stage V also has an IPM agreement to supply the SPL Expansion Project, subject to Cheniere making a positive FID on the first train of the SPL Expansion Project. Additionally, to ensure that SPL is able to transport and manage the natural gas feedstock to the Sabine Pass LNG Terminal, it has transportation precedent and other agreements to secure firm pipeline transportation and storage capacity from third parties and CTPL.
Regasification Facilities
The Sabine Pass LNG Terminal has operational regasification capacity of approximately 4 Bcf/d and aggregate LNG storage capacity of approximately 17 Bcfe. SPLNG has a long-term, third-party TUA for 1 Bcf/d with TotalEnergies Gas & Power North America, Inc. (‘TotalEnergies’), under which TotalEnergies is required to pay fixed monthly fees, whether or not it uses the regasification capacity it has reserved. Prior to its cancellation effective December 31, 2022, SPLNG also had a TUA for 1 Bcf/d with Chevron U.S.A. Inc. (‘Chevron’). Approximately 2 Bcf/d of the remaining capacity has been reserved under a TUA by SPL, which also has a partial TUA assignment agreement with TotalEnergies.
Corpus Christi LNG Terminal
Liquefaction Facilities and Expansion Projects
The Corpus Christi LNG Terminal includes three Trains, three storage tanks, two marine berths, and the construction of the Corpus Christi Stage 3 Project with seven midscale Trains. Additionally, in March 2023, certain of the company's subsidiaries submitted an application with the FERC under the NGA for the CCL Midscale Trains 8 & 9 Project, for which a positive Environmental Assessment from the FERC was received in June 2024.
Natural Gas Supply, Transportation, and Storage
CCL has secured natural gas feedstock for the Corpus Christi LNG Terminal through long-term natural gas supply agreements, including IPM agreements. Additionally, to ensure that CCL is able to transport and manage the natural gas feedstock to the Corpus Christi LNG Terminal, it has transportation precedent and other agreements to secure firm pipeline transportation and storage capacity from third parties and CCP.
Marketing
LNG produced by the Liquefaction Projects that is not contracted under long-term contracts is available for Cheniere Marketing, the company's integrated marketing function, to sell in the global market under spot sales or other short-term agreements.
Governmental Regulation
The design, construction, operation, maintenance, and expansion of the company's liquefaction facilities, the import or export of LNG, and the purchase and transportation of natural gas in interstate commerce through its pipelines are highly regulated activities subject to the jurisdiction of the FERC pursuant to the NGA.
The company is permitted to make sales of natural gas for resale in interstate commerce pursuant to a blanket marketing certificate granted by the FERC with the issuance of its Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity to its marketing affiliates.
In order to site, construct, and operate its LNG terminals, the company received and is required to maintain authorizations from the FERC under Section 3 of the NGA, as well as other material governmental and regulatory approvals and permits.
Throughout the life of its LNG terminals and its pipelines, the company is subject to regular reporting requirements to the FERC, the Department of Transportation’s (‘DOT’) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (‘PHMSA’), and applicable federal and state regulatory agencies regarding the operation and maintenance of its facilities.
The company's LNG terminals, as well as the Creole Trail Pipeline and the Corpus Christi Pipeline, are subject to regulation by PHMSA. PHMSA is authorized by the applicable pipeline safety laws to establish minimum safety standards for certain pipelines and LNG facilities.
Construction and operation of the company's facilities require additional permits, orders, approvals, and consultations to be issued by various federal and state agencies, including the DOT, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (‘USACE’), the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the ‘EPA’), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (the ‘LDEQ’), the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (‘TCEQ’), and the Railroad Commission of Texas.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the ‘Dodd-Frank Act’) amended the Commodity Exchange Act to provide for federal regulation of the over-the-counter derivatives market and entities, such as the company, that participate in those markets.
In addition, separate from the Dodd-Frank Act, the company's use of futures and options on commodities is subject to the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations, as well as the rules of futures exchanges on which any of these instruments are executed.
The company's European trading activities, which are primarily established in and operated out of the United Kingdom (‘U.K.’), are subject to a number of the European Union (‘EU’) and the U.K. laws and regulations, including, but not limited to:
The European Market Infrastructure Regulation, which was designed to increase the transparency and stability of the European Economic Area (‘EEA’) derivatives markets;
The Regulation on Wholesale Energy Market Integrity and Transparency (‘REMIT’), which prohibits market manipulation and insider trading in EEA wholesale energy markets and imposes various transparency and other obligations on participants active in these markets;
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive and Regulation (‘MiFID II’), which sets forth a financial services framework across the EEA, including rules for firms engaging in investment services and activities in connection with certain financial instruments, including a range of commodity derivatives; and
The Market Abuse Regulation, which was implemented to create an enhanced market abuse framework, and which applies generally to all financial instruments listed or traded on EEA trading venues (‘Traded Instruments’), as well as other over-the-counter financial instruments priced on, or impacting, the price or value of the Traded Instrument.
As a result, the company is subject to two separate sets of rules based on the same underlying legislation: one set of rules that apply in the EEA (i.e. not including the U.K.) (the ‘EEA Rules’); and one set of rules that apply only in the U.K. (the ‘U.K. Onshored Rules’).
In addition to the U.K. Onshored Rules, the company is also subject to a separate, the U.K.-specific regime that is not based on prior EU/EEA legislation. This is primarily set out in the U.K.’s Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (‘FSMA’) and Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001 (‘RAO’).
The company's LNG terminals are subject to the federal CAA and comparable state and local laws.
The siting and construction of the company's LNG terminals within the coastal zone is subject to the requirements of the CZMA. The CZMA is administered by the states (in Louisiana, by the Department of Natural Resources, and in Texas, by the General Land Office).
The company's LNG terminals are subject to the federal CWA and analogous state and local laws. The CWA is administered by the EPA, the USACE, and by the states (in Louisiana, by the LDEQ, and in Texas, by the TCEQ). The CWA regulatory programs, including the Section 404 dredge and fill permitting program and Section 401 water quality certification program carried out by the states, are frequently the subject of shifting agency interpretations and legal challenges.
History
Cheniere Energy, Inc. was incorporated in 1983.
