First ship loaded with U.S.-produced LNG heads to Brazil

FEBRUARY 25, 2016—In an historic voyage for the export of U.S.-produced Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), the Asia Vision left the Sabine Pass Terminal in Louisiana on February 24 loaded with 160,000 m³ of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) destined for Brazil.

Cheniere Energy Partners, L.P., Houston, TX, said that the ship carried what is the first commissioning cargo with LNG produced from the first liquefaction train of its Sabine Pass liquefaction project in Cameron Parish, LA. The LNG carrier Asia Vision was chartered by Cheniere Marketing, LLC. 

“This historic event opens a new chapter for the country in energy trade and is a significant milestone for Cheniere as we prepare Train 1 for commercial operations,” says Neal Shear, Chairman and Interim CEO of Cheniere Partners.

When the shipment arrives, Petrobras said the 160,000 m³ of LNG—equivalent to 96 million m³ of natural gas—would be taken to its regasification terminal in All Saints’ Bay, Bahia.



Following regasification at the terminal in Bahia, the fuel will be pumped into Petrobras’ network of gas pipelines to supply Brazil’s domestic market, mainly for use in thermal power plants.



The natural gas was processed and liquefied for shipment by Cheniere at an industrial facility built to make use of the abundant gas in the U.S. market following the shale gas revolution. Through this purchase, Petrobras is diversifying its portfolio of suppliers, making Brazil’s supply of natural gas more flexible and secure, and establishing an important commercial partnership in the Atlantic Basin.

Through its wholly-owned subsidiary,  Sabine Pass LNG, L.P., Cheniere Partners owns 100% of the Sabine Pass LNG terminal located on the Sabine-Neches Waterway less than four miles from the Gulf Coast. The Sabine Pass LNG terminal includes existing infrastructure of five LNG storage tanks with capacity of approximately 16.9 billion ft³ equivalent (Bcfe), two docks that can accommodate vessels with nominal capacity of up to 266,000 m³ and vaporizers with regasification capacity of about 4.0 Bcf/d. Through its wholly-owned subsidiary Cheniere Creole Trail Pipeline, L.P., Cheniere Partners also owns a 94-mile pipeline that interconnects the Sabine Pass LNG terminal with a number of large interstate pipelines. Cheniere Partners, through its subsidiary, Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC, is developing and constructing natural gas liquefaction facilities at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal adjacent to the existing regasification facilities. 

Cheniere Partners, through SPL, plans to construct over time up to six liquefaction trains, which are in various stages of construction and development. Each liquefaction train is expected to have a nominal production capacity of approximately 4.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG. SPL has entered into six third-party LNG sale and purchase agreements (“SPAs”) that in the aggregate equate to approximately 19.75 mtpa of LNG and commence with the date of first commercial delivery of Trains 1 through 5 as specified in the respective SPAs.