Cameron LNG Proceeding with Plans for Fourth Train in Export Expansion

TotalEnergies and its partners in the Cameron LNG liquefaction production and LNG export facility located in Louisiana are moving forward with plans to continue to increase the size of the facility which came online in 2019 and 2020. TotalEnergies along with Sempra Infrastructure, Mitsui & Co., and Mitsubishi Corporation and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK)’s partnership Japan LNG Investment signed a Heads of Agreement (HOA) for the expansion of the facility which will further grow the U.S.’s lead as the top global exporter of LNG.

In October of 2014, Cameron LNG officially announced intentions to move forward when our partners committed an estimated $10 billion to construct this liquefaction facility. The Cameron LNG liquefaction-export project includes three liquefaction Trains with a projected export of 12 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of LNG or approximately 1.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcfd). The company commenced commercial operations for Train 1 in August 2019, Train 2 in March 2020, and Train 3 in August 2020, respectively.

This planned expansion project includes the development of a fourth train with a production capacity of 6.75 million metric tons per annum (Mtpa), and a five percent increase of the current 13.5 Mtpa first three trains through debottlenecking. It will also include design enhancements aiming at reducing the emissions of the facility, including electric drive technology. 

“We are pleased to take this new step with our partners to increase liquefaction capacity at Cameron LNG, a facility ideally located on the Atlantic basin for export to Europe,” said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman & CEO of TotalEnergies. “In recent years, TotalEnergies has become the leading exporter of U.S. LNG, most of which has been exported to Europe in recent times. TotalEnergies is committed to further expanding its presence in the United States, thus meeting growing need for LNG, a key transition fuel.” 

While the companies said that a final investment decision is not scheduled until 2023, the project is well-positioned as global demand grows for LNG and major customers look for sources beyond Russia. In 2021, the U.S. set a record high in 2021, averaging 9.7 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, representing a 50 percent increase in exports. They noted that the six primary liquefication plants were operating at or beyond rated capacity while the Department of Energy was working to support further growth in the industry. DOE reported in March 2022 that the U.S. had become the top global exporter of LNG noting that exports are set to grow an additional 20 percent beyond current levels by the end of this year as additional capacity comes online.

Cameron LNG reported that it has selected two contractors to conduct a competitive Front End Engineering Design for the new train. They will compete for selection as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor. Under the terms of the agreement among the partners, they will each receive a portion of the production for the fourth line equal to their share in the overall project. Sempra Infrastructure, which owns 50.2 percent of the project, said it expects to enter into long-term sale and purchase agreements while TotalEnergies, Mitsui & Co., and Japan LNG Investment each have 16.6 percent shares. All four partners will share equally in the projected debottlenecking capacity.