Cheniere Energy, the nation’s largest natural gas exporting company, announced a 20-year deal with Malaysia’s government-owned oil company on Tuesday to provide the Asian country with a steady supply of U.S. liquefied natural gas.
Malaysia’s Petronas has agreed to purchase nearly 1.1 million tons per year of LNG from Cheniere’s Sabine Pass LNG export terminal on the Texas-Louisiana border once its latest expansion project is finished.
The Trump administration has made LNG exports a central part of its energy dominance agenda, and has recently been presiding over deals between Cheniere and foreign purchasers of U.S.-sourced natural gas like Poland.
The purchase agreement would back the expansion of Cheniere’s Sabine Pass facility in adding a sixth terminal fueling point called a “train.” Each train at an LNG export terminal turns natural gas into a liquid for shipment overseas.
“This 20-year agreement with Sabine Pass Liquefaction continues our momentum on Train 6, where early engineering, procurement, and site preparation activities have recently commenced ahead of a final investment decision,” said Jack Fusco, president and CEO of Cheniere.
He expects the deal will inform the company’s final investment decision next year whether to open the new train at Sabine Pass. The company’s goal is to be the fifth largest LNG exporter in the world by 2020. Tuesday’s deal with Petronas is a step toward generating the capital to reach that goal, according to Fusco.
“PETRONAS is one of the largest and most experienced participants in the global LNG market, and we are pleased to have it as our newest foundation customer at Sabine Pass,” Fusco added.
