Cheniere's Corpus Christi Stage 3 Project Gets FERC Nod

Cheniere Energy, Inc. LNG recently achieved a major milestone with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval for the construction and operation of its Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion project.

The company’s liquefaction platform comprising Corpus Christi liquefaction (CCL) project on the US Gulf Coast along with the expansion of Corpus Christi’s stage 3 project has an estimated production capacity of roughly 25 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

Per Jack Fusco, Cheniere’s president and CEO, “our continued progress on Corpus Christi Stage 3, including today’s regulatory approval and our continued commercial success, is a testament to the global competitiveness of the project and reinforces our confidence in our ability to expand our world-scale liquefaction platform in Corpus Christi.”

The company, which is the first US LNG exporter, plans to construct seven midscale liquefaction trains neighboring Corpus Christi Bay across 1,000 acres. Each train is expected with production capacity of approximately 10 mtpa. The first train is likely to run in 2022.

This Houston-based entity’s final investment decision (FID) on Corpus Christi Stage 3 project, scheduled for next year, is contingent upon clinching an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract alongside acquiring the essential financing arrangements and commercial support for the project.

Recently, Cheniere reported loss per share of $1.25 in third-quarter results. However, the Zacks Consensus Estimate was for earnings of 8 cents per share. High operating costs and expenses caused this underperformance.

The loss also came in against the year-ago earnings of 26 cents per share.

Owing to higher LNG volumes, quarterly revenues increased 19.3% to $2,170 million from $1,819 million a year ago. The top line also surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2,118 million in the quarter under review. Also, Cheniere shipped 108 cargoes, reflecting a 66% surge from the year-earlier figure.

Zacks Rank & Key Picks

Cheniere currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Better-ranked stocks in the energy space include Phillips 66 PSX, Delek Logistics Partners, L.P. DKL and PBF Logistics LP PBFX, each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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