The US’s largest LNG exporter Cheniere Energy has been given the green light by federal regulators to add hot oil and fuel gas into Train 7 at its Corpus Christi facility, Reuters reported on July 17.

The authorization marks another key milestone for Cheniere in its Stage 3 expansion of the facility, which US contractor Bechtel is carrying out the engineering, procurement, and construction for the expansion project featuring seven midscale trains.

The expansion project will add 10 mn tonnes per year (tpy) of production capacity to the export terminal located in Texas, with each train adding 1.43 mn tpy of liquefaction capacity.

Once Stage 3 is fully completed, the Corpus Christi plant’s production capacity will climb to 25 mn tpy, while Cheniere’s overall production capacity will rise to over 55 mn tpy.

In granting Cheniere authorization, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) required that Corpus Christi must continue to meet all remaining terms and conditions as indicated in previous filings.

In June, Cheniere revealed that it had reached substantial completion of Train 6. First LNG was produced from the liquefaction train in May.

Meanwhile, is also building two additional midscale trains at Corpus Christi under its Midscale Trains 8 & 9 and Debottlenecking project. A final investment decision (FID) was taken in June 2025. The expansion will add an additional 5 mn tpy of liquefaction capacity by late 2028.

In addition, Cheniere has also applied to FERC for approval of Stage 4 expansion of the plant. The Houston-headquartered company hopes to receive authorization by May 2027.

During the first quarter, Cheniere shipped a record 187 cargoes from its two LNG plants Corpus Christi LNG and Sabine Pass LNG, which is located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.