Cheniere locks in 4 mtpa of LNG sales to QatarEnergy through 2054

Cheniere Energy has signed sale and purchase agreements (SPAs, long-term LNG supply contracts) with QatarEnergy covering a combined 4 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of liquefied natural gas through 2054. The company confirmed the multi-decade commitments, which span both of its Gulf Coast liquefaction platforms.

Under the agreements, Cheniere subsidiaries Sabine Pass Liquefaction (SPL) and Corpus Christi Liquefaction will each supply 2 mtpa to the Qatari state producer. The LNG will be delivered free-on-board (the buyer takes ownership at the loading terminal), priced against the Henry Hub index plus a fixed fee. The structure mirrors Cheniere's standard contracting model, which separates commodity exposure from a fixed capacity payment.

Not all of the volume is secured against existing capacity. One 1 mtpa tranche from SPL is contingent on a positive final investment decision (FID, the board-level sanction committing capital to construction) for the first phase of the SPL Expansion Project. Cheniere is developing that expansion through Cheniere Energy Partners.

What does the expansion add at Sabine Pass?

Cheniere is evaluating an expansion at the existing Sabine Pass site in Louisiana to raise production capacity to approximately 20 mtpa, including potential debottlenecking improvements (engineering changes that lift throughput at existing units). Once complete, total Sabine Pass capacity could exceed 50 mtpa.

The expansion is planned in several phases. Phase one comprises:

• A single additional train, designated Train 7
• A boil-off gas re-liquefaction unit (equipment that recaptures gas evaporated from storage tanks as sellable LNG)
• Tie-ins at the existing Sabine Pass LNG terminal

Phase one is expected to deliver more than 6 mtpa of production capacity, inclusive of estimated debottlenecking gains. The takeaway: the QatarEnergy contract anchors customer demand for a project that has not yet reached sanction.

In May 2026, Cheniere signed a lump sum, turnkey engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract with Bechtel Energy for phase one of the expansion. Bechtel has since been authorized to begin early engineering and procurement work under a limited notice to proceed, a staged authorization that precedes full construction release.

How large is the existing base?

Sabine Pass currently operates six trains with roughly 30 mtpa of total capacity. The Louisiana terminal processes more than 4.7 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. The facility remains the largest single LNG export site in the United States by train count and feedgas demand.

Corpus Christi, on the Texas coast, supplies the other 2 mtpa under the new SPAs from its own liquefaction complex.

What did Cheniere's CEO say?

Cheniere chairman, president and CEO Jack Fusco framed the agreements as a commercial milestone. He said: "These pivotal, multi-decade agreements with QatarEnergy, one of the world's most important energy companies and a cornerstone of the global LNG industry, represent a major long-term commercial commitment and reinforce Cheniere's position as the leader in US LNG."

Fusco added: "We look forward to reliably supplying QatarEnergy from both Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi into the second half of this century."

The direction of flow is notable: the world's largest LNG exporter by capacity is buying US volumes, a transaction that locks Gulf Coast liquefaction capacity into Qatari portfolio management through mid-century.

Watch items

The immediate watch item is the FID on SPL Expansion phase one, which converts the contingent 1 mtpa into firm supply. Bechtel's progress under the limited notice to proceed, and the timing of full construction release at Sabine Pass, will signal sanction timing. The takeaway: Cheniere has pre-sold volume into the 2050s before committing the capital to produce it.