Cheniere signs 20-year deal to export gas to Spanish company

Cheniere Energy Inc. has signed a 20-year, $5.6 billion deal to ship liquefied natural gas (LNG) to a Spanish company from its planned terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Under the deal announced Friday, Iberdola will buy 400,000 metric tons of LNG annually from the Corpus Christi liquefaction facility once comes online, which could be as early as 2018, the Houston Chronicle reported. As the plant develops more processing capacity and adds a second and third liquefaction system, Iberdola’s commitment will increase.

{mosads}Cheniere’s Corpus Christi facility is one of 25 awaiting approval from the Department of Energy to export LNG to countries with which the United States does not have a free-trade agreement. It is also waiting for more thorough approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Cheniere said it plans to start construction early in 2015 on the facility. The Friday deal is the first major commitment for the Corpus Christi project’s second liquefaction system, the Chronicle said. An Indonesian company signed a purchase agreement in December, and another Spanish company signed one in April.

Iberdola will sell the natural gas from Corpus Christi to customers in the United Kingdom and Spain.