Corpus Christi Liquefaction Project

Bechtel is designing and building three liquefied natural gas trains and related facilities near Corpus Christi for a subsidiary of Cheniere Energy, Inc. This is the first greenfield LNG export facility in the United States in nearly 50 years.

The dramatic rise in U.S. production of natural gas and the surging energy demand worldwide make this project and others like it especially important to sustaining and enhancing economic development for nations around the world.

The Corpus Christi Liquefaction project includes

  • a design production capacity of some 4.5 million metric tons per year of LNG from each train
  • three LNG storage tanks with capacity of more than 10 billion cubic feet equivalent
  • two berths that can accommodate vessels with capacity of up to 267,000 cubic meters

Image gallery

a long corridor of steel framework
four concrete towers against a blue sky
image of steel scaffolding
two LNG tanks on the project site
158380-bechtel-corpus-christi-lng
a silhouette of two workers having a conversation
ground level photo of steel scaffolding and a pipe rack
workers on site under steel beams at the project
LNG storage tanks
LNG cooling area
2 LNG berths
A look at the project site with cranes
The back of a Bechtel worker in a hard hat and PPE on site
The back of a worker in a hard hat looking up to the sky in between trains
2 workers walking near the berths
underneath the trains with a worker in boots on a dirt ground
landscape view of the LNG project waterside

Inside the project

Construction of the complex is taking place over two stages:

  • Stage 1 includes two LNG trains, two tanks, one complete berth, and a second partial berth. Train 1 celebrated its first production of LNG from the facility on November 15, 2018 and Train 2 reached substantial completion in August, 2019.
  • Stage 2 covers one LNG train, one additional tank, and completion of the second berth. Stage 2 received full notice to proceed in June 2018.

Bechtel is designing, constructing, and commissioning the LNG trains using the ConocoPhillips Optimized Cascade® process, a proven technology deployed in numerous LNG projects around the world. The process uses three refrigeration phases involving propane, ethylene, and methane to progressively cool the natural gas.

Bechtel first used the ConocoPhillips Optimized Cascade® LNG process in a liquefaction plant it built for Phillips Petroleum on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula. The facility has continuously produced LNG for the Japanese market since 1969. 

What is LNG?

LNG is natural gas that's been compressed by refrigeration to a temperature of minus 258 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 161 degrees Celsius). The liquid occupies 600 times less space than natural gas in its gaseous state, making it practical to ship by ocean tanker. And it's stable and safe, because even though compressed in volume, the liquid remains at normal atmospheric pressure.

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