zoomImage Courtesy: Cheniere

The first liquefied natural gas (LNG) commissioning cargo from Sabine Pass liquefaction project, located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, should be exported in late February or March 2016, according to Houston-based energy company Cheniere Energy.

The first commissioning cargo was initially expected to occur by late January, however, the company said that, although the construction for Train 1 was completed ahead of schedule, instrumentation issues were discovered during the final phases of plant commissioning and cool down that would require additional work over the next few weeks.

“We are now expecting the first cargo in late February or March,” said Neal Shear, Interim President and CEO.

“With construction of Train 1 finished, we remain well ahead of the guaranteed contractual schedule with Bechtel and anticipate no issues in meeting all contractual targets and guaranteed completion dates. Additionally, construction for Trains 2-5 continues to be on an accelerated schedule and these trains are expected to come on-line on a staggered basis.”

Cheniere Partners is developing and constructing natural gas liquefaction facilities at the Sabine Pass LNG terminal adjacent to the existing regasification facilities. The company plans to construct up to six liquefaction trains, which are in various stages of development. Each liquefaction train is expected to have a nominal production capacity of approximately 4.5 million tonnes per annum of LNG.