Houston, Texas-based Cheniere Energy has suggested the planned first shipments from its new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Sabine Pass in Louisiana may be delayed by a few months, according to Bloomberg.
The anticipated delay would be to allow for certain operational steps such as cooling the tanks before the first ship can be loaded.
It would mean that the first LNG cargo will depart the terminal in the first quarter of 2016 instead of late 2015 as initially projected.
Sabine Pass is the first complex designed to liquefy and export natural gas from the continental US, with European markets as its main target.
The terminal will have six production plants, known as trains, for chilling natural gas delivered from the booming shale fields of North America.
Cheniere is investing $11 billion in the Sabine Pass plant and another $8-9bn in a similar one at Corpus Christi in Texas.
