According to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA), US liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity is slated to reach 8.9 bcf/d (251 mcm/d or 91.7 bcm/year) by the end of 2019, making it the third largest in the world after Australia and Qatar. The current US export capacity (as of early December 2018) stands at 3.6 bcf/d (101 mcm/d or 37.2 bcm/year) and will near 4.9 bcf/d (50.6 bcm/year) at the end of the year, when two LNG trains will start operations.
Corpus Christi-1 and Sabine Pass-5 already entered the production phase in November 2018 (commissioning cargoes expected in a few weeks). Corpus Christi-2 is expected to be commissioned in 2019 along with Freeport LNG (two trains) and the three trains of the Cameron LNG project. The Elba Island LNG project (consisting of six trains) near Savannah, Georgia, is also scheduled to become fully operational by the end of 2019.
Consequently, US exports are predicted to ramp up along with the growing export capacity, from 24.9 mcm/d (9 bcm/year) in 2017 to 2.9 bcf/d (82 mcm/d or 29.9 bcm/year) in 2018 and 5.2 bcf/d (147 mcm/d or 53.6 bcm/year) in 2019.
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