((Automated translation by Reuters, please see disclaimer https://bit.ly/rtrsauto))
(Added quote from Cheniere executive and background in paragraphs 4-7 and 10) by Curtis Williams
The leading US exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) Cheniere Energy Inc
LNG.N won’t know until September when it can produce the first LNG from its Phase 3 LNG export facility in Corpus Christi, Bechtel general manager for LNG Bhupesh Thakkar said.
Cheniere told the market it aimed to produce first LNG by the end of the year, but Thakkar said that target was not yet guaranteed.
“We together aim to produce the first LNG by the end of the year,” Mr. Thakkar said, before adding: “Around August or September, we will know what it is: “Around August or September , we will know what the probability of achieving this is.”
“It would be nice to have it done by the end of the year, but if we just miss it… as long as we’re safe, that to me is the most important thing,” Corey said Grindal, COO of Cheniere.
Labor shortages, particularly among skilled workers in the construction sector, must be overcome, he added.
Rising labor costs, due to a shortage of artisanal labor, have undermined LNG projects and increased costs over the past two years.
Phase 3 will consist of seven mid-size trains that will add more than 10 million metric tons per year of super-chilled gas to Cheniere’s production capacity.
Weather conditions, including the current hurricane season, could play a major role, Grindal said during a fireside chat at the LNG 2024 conference in Houston.
“The Gulf of Mexico is quite warm, so we’re constantly on the lookout for hurricanes. We can’t control the effects of mother nature,” he added.
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 November 30.
