Cheniere Energy unsure if will hit Corpus Christi end of year gas target
HOUSTON, June 26 (Reuters) - Top U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) exporter Cheniere Energy Inc will not know until September when it can produce first LNG from its Corpus Christi Stage 3 LNG export facility, said Bechtel General Manager of LNG Bhupesh Thakkar.
Cheniere has told the market it was aiming to produce first LNG by the end of the year, but Thakkar said that goal was not yet guaranteed.
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"We are targeting together to make first LNG by the end of the year," said Thakkar, adding: "around August or September we will know what is the probability of getting this."
"It will be nice to have it done by the end of the year but if we miss it by a little ... as long as we are safe, to me that’s the most important thing," said Cheniere Chief Operating Officer Corey Grindal.
Labor shortages particularly among skilled construction workers have to be overcome, he said.
Rising labor costs due to a shortage of craft labor have challenged LNG projects and increased costs over the last two years.
Stage 3 will consist of seven midscale trains that will add in excess of 10 million metric tons per annum of the superchilled gas to Cheniere's production capacity.
Weather conditions including the current hurricane season could play a major role, said Grindal, speaking at a fireside chat at the LNG 2024 conference in Houston.
"The Gulf of Mexico is pretty warm so we constantly look for hurricanes. The effects of mother nature is the thing we can’t control," he said.
Forecasters are predicting an above average hurricane season this year with up to seven major hurricanes forming in the Atlantic basin between June 1 and Nov. 30.
(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by David Gregorio and Josie Kao)