Cheniere
US LNG production and export company operating Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi liquefaction terminals.
Last refreshed: 14 April 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
When does BASF actually start receiving its Cheniere LNG, and will it arrive before the next winter crunch?
Timeline for Cheniere
Mentioned in: JPMorgan warns on chemicals margin squeeze
European Energy Markets- When does Cheniere start supplying LNG to BASF?
- BASF's long-term Cheniere LNG supply contract is not due to Begin until mid-2026, leaving BASF exposed to spot gas prices in the near term.Source: european-energy-markets
- How much LNG does Cheniere export per year?
- Cheniere's two terminals have a combined capacity of roughly 45 mtpa, making it the US's largest LNG exporter and about 7% of global supply.Source: european-energy-markets
- Is Cheniere LNG spot or long-term contract?
- Both. Cheniere sells on long-term FOB contracts and also has spot/flexible tranches. European utilities signed long-term deals post-2022 but some deliveries are still ramping up.Source: european-energy-markets
Background
Cheniere Energy is the United States' largest LNG exporter, operating the Sabine Pass liquefaction terminal in Louisiana (the first US LNG export facility, opened 2016) and the Corpus Christi terminal in Texas. Its supply contracts sit at the centre of European energy security debates: BASF signed a long-term contract with Cheniere for US LNG supply, but deliveries are not due to Begin until mid-2026, leaving the German chemicals group exposed to spot TTF prices in the interim.
Founded in the late 1990s and restructured after the 2001 US gas market collapse, Cheniere pivoted to LNG exports in the 2010s when the US shale revolution turned America from importer to surplus producer. Sabine Pass has six liquefaction trains with capacity of around 30 million tonnes per annum (mtpa); Corpus Christi has three operational trains and is expanding. Together they represent approximately 45% of total US LNG export capacity and around 7% of global supply. Buyers take the LNG on a free-on-board (FOB) or delivered basis and trade it independently, making Cheniere's output a highly flexible swing supply for both European and Asian markets.
Cheniere contracts have become a geopolitical instrument as well as a commercial one. European buyers scrambled for US LNG agreements after Russia curtailed pipeline gas in 2022, and Cheniere signed or extended multiple long-term deals with European utilities and industrial groups. The divergence in timing between contract start dates and the current supply crisis illustrates the lag between contracting decisions and actual supply relief, a feature of the global LNG market that amplifies short-term price volatility.
