Bechtel has received a notice to proceed from Cheniere Energy Inc. for the next expansion phase of its liquified natural gas export terminal in Corpus Christi, Texas. The project calls for construction of two midscale LNG production trains with an expected combined liquifaction capacity of more than 3 million metric tons per year.

Cheniere also said it approved the final investment decision for the expansion, set to cost $2.9 billion. Completion of the new systems are expected to bring the facility’s overall output to more than 30 million metric tons per year by 2030.

Bechtel also will identify opportunities to debottleneck and optimize existing infrastructure to further increase overall production capacity. “The midscale train design allows for more flexible, modular additions to existing infrastructure, which Cheniere has favored in recent brownfield developments,” the owner said.

The contractor has been involved with Houston-based Cheniere’s 1,000-acre liquefaction facility in Corpus Christi since 2013, when it was tapped for the plant’s initial two stages under separate turnkey EPC contracts totaling about $9.5 billion. That work included design and construction of three LNG trains, containment tanks and two transport vessel berths at the plant site, located adjacent to the La Quinta Ship Canal.

Cheniere also noted that design and construction has begun for more than $8 million in shoreline protection projects at the plant, where the first liquefaction train began producing LNG last December. Deliveries to overseas buyers are set to begin in 2026. Earlier this year, Bechtel achieved substantial completion of the facility’s third stage, which added another four production trains totaling 10 million metric tons per year.

Cheniere said the Corpus Christi plant is the foundation for an LNG infrastructure platform that, combined with liquefaction capacity expansions at its Sabine Pass LNG plant in Louisiana, would ultimately provide a production total of about 75 million metric tons per year within the next decade. Total site investment, including previous stages, is set to exceed $25 billion, the company said.

In addition to a Cheniere-owned 21.5-mile, 48-in.-dia natural gas supply pipeline, the Corpus Christi plant receives feed gas from the ADCC pipeline, a 40-mile intrastate connection that began operation in July 2024.

Co-owned by Cheniere and a joint venture of Austin-based petroleum infrastructure specialist WhiteWater, energy infrastructure owner-operator MPLX and gas developer Enbridge, the 42-in.-dia pipeline is designed to transport up to 1.7 billion cu ft per day, with provisions for further expansion.