Federal authorities issued Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG export facility in Hackberry multiple regulatory approvals last week for commissioning-related procedures at its second liquefaction train, moving the unit closer to commercial startup by early next year.
S&P Global Platts reports the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave Cameron the go-ahead on a variance request for commissioning procedures at Train 2, along with an authorization to introduce hazardous fluids and commission the unit’s ISBL Hot Oil System and PR Gas Turbine.
Similar commissioning-related authorizations from FERC at Cameron’s Train 1—issued from mid-December 2018 to early January 2019—were followed by a late-March startup to initial gas deliveries.
Train 1 shipped its first cargo on May 31 and received regulatory approval to begin commercial service in late July.
The startup timeline at Train 1 suggests that its second unit could begin receiving initial gas deliveries by late December or early January, followed by the export of a first cargo in March.
A recent forecast published by S&P Global Platts Analytics shows Cameron train 2 and 3 reaching commercial service by March 2020 and August 2020, respectively.
