By Anna Shiryaevskaya

(Bloomberg) — Cheniere Energy Inc. is not sure if it is going to ship first cargo of liquefied pure gasoline from the decrease 48 U.S. states this quarter or early subsequent yr, Chief Executive Officer Charif Souki mentioned, signaling that the corporate might miss its authentic 2015 goal.

The Sabine Pass terminal in Louisiana, which can have six manufacturing crops, or trains, will begin chilling pure gasoline on the finish of this quarter, Souki mentioned Thursday in an interview on the twentieth International Gas & Electricity Summit in Paris. The plant must full sure operational steps reminiscent of cooling the tanks earlier than the primary ship could be loaded, he mentioned.

“Whether we actually export the first cargo this year or next year, I don’t know yet,” Souki mentioned. “The first LNG you produce, you have to see at what pace you produce it, if there are any issues or not; and you have to accumulate enough LNG in the tanks to make sure you cool down everything. We have five tanks.”

Cheniere is on the entrance line of U.S. plans to export LNG as shale formations increase gasoline manufacturing. Sabine Pass and different export terminals worldwide are increasing spot commerce of the gasoline at a time when international costs are slumping amid surging provide and U.Ok. pure gasoline futures are on the lowest seasonal stage since 2009.

Cheniere has signed agreements to produce LNG from Sabine Pass with firms together with BG Group Plc, Gas Natural SDG SA, Korea Gas Corp. and GAIL India Ltd. U.Ok. gasoline costs will slide 19 % this yr to common $6.80 per million British thermal models, whereas costs in Japan will drop to $7.50 per million Btu from $14 final yr, in keeping with Energy Aspects Ltd.

“We don’t have any particular need to export immediately,” Souki mentioned. “There are some operational steps to be taken.”

‘Natural Customer’

Cheniere sees Europe as a “natural customer” for U.S. LNG and is able to provide as a lot gasoline to the European market because it’s prepared to soak up, Souki mentioned on the convention. In the present market, it’s extra worthwhile to promote LNG to Europe than to Asia, he mentioned.

In Europe, U.S. gasoline will compete with Russia, the area’s greatest exterior provider, and Algeria, Total SA CEO Patrick Pouyanne mentioned Thursday in Paris.

“Europe will receive a lot of gas from a lot of places, especially when there will be LNG from the U.S.,” Pouyanne mentioned. “There will be competition between American gas, Russian gas, Algerian gas, Middle Eastern gas and all that should be favorable to the European consumer.”

$30 Billion

Cheniere’s debt at LNG initiatives is estimated at $20 billion to $24 billion, Souki mentioned. Sabine Pass will account for $11 billion and the Corpus Christi venture for $8 billion to $9 billion, he mentioned.

“But it is all at the project level, it is all supported by the cash flows at the project level, and the coverage is more than 200 percent,” Souki mentioned.

Jim Chanos, founder and president of New York-based hedge fund Kynikos Associates LP, mentioned October 12 that Cheniere’s plans to export LNG from the U.S. will go away the corporate burdened with over $30 billion in debt.

“That’s nonsense,” Souki mentioned when requested about Chanos’s estimate. “I am not sure what he is talking about.”

Separately, Souki mentioned Cheniere’s advertising arm in London employed Andrew Walker, a former vp for international LNG at BG Group Plc who spent greater than 20 years on the Reading, England-based firm.

–With help from Maher Chmaytelli in Paris and Christine Buurma in New York.

©2015 Bloomberg News

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