Cheniere signs LNG export deal from Texas terminal

Spanish energy company Endesa signed an agreement to take on 1.5 million tons of LNG from an export facility being developed in Texas, Cheniere Energy said.

Cheniere, which is planning a facility near Corpus Christi, Texas, that can export 13.5 million tons of liquefied natural gas per year, said it signed a sale and purchase agreement with Endesa Genercion.

The deal is the second for Cheniere. In December, it signed a similar arrangement with Indonesian state-owned company PT Pertamina.

Charif Souki, chairman and chief executive officer of Cheniere, said Wednesday his company expects to have the regulatory and investment decisions made to start construction at the LNG export terminal by early next year.

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission needs to give consent to LNG exports to countries without a free-trade agreement with the United States. Endesa is a leading utility company in Spain, but has active operations in Latin America.

The agreement with Endesa is for 20 years with an option to extend it for another 10 years. First deliveries of LNG are expected by 2018.