US-based project company Freeport LNG has signed binding heads of agreement (HoA) with Japanese company Sumitomo Corporation for the delivery of 2.2 Mt/year of LNG from Freeport LNG's fourth train (Texas, US). The contract will last over a 20-year period and is expected to begin in 2023. In order to secure the financing of the 5 Mt/year train and begin its construction, Freeport LNG requires to sign contracts worth at least 3.5 Mt/year of capacity.
Freeport LNG includes three other trains with a total capacity of 15 Mt/year (5 Mt/year each), out of which 13.9 Mt/year have already been contracted to Osaka Gas Trading & Export, JERA Energy America, BP, Toshiba and SK E&S.
In April 2018, Freeport LNG announced that the first liquefaction train would come onstream nine months later than initially expected due to the Hurricane Harvey which flooded equipment lay-yards. It will enter service in September 2019, while the second and third trains will be ready in January and May 2020, respectively.