By Curtis Williams
HOUSTON (Reuters) -U.S. liquefied natural gas developer Commonwealth LNG is close to signing a deal with Japan’s biggest power generator, JERA, to supply it with 1 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG from its proposed export facility in Louisiana, two sources told Reuters.
The deal would run for 20 years and bring Commonwealth LNG to 8 mtpa committed under long-term contracts. The company has said publicly that it wants to get contracts for at least 8 mtpa of its 9.5 mtpa LNG export terminal capacity to give the project the financial go ahead.
The U.S. is the largest exporter of LNG in the world and based on projects under construction and those expected to get the financial go ahead this year, the country could triple its export capacity by 2030.
“They have agreed to terms on the deal and should be signing it soon,” one of the sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters.
Commonwealth LNG did not respond to a request for comment. JERA declined to comment.
Commonwealth was one of the projects impacted by a pause on new LNG export licenses imposed by former President Joe Biden pending a study on the economic and environmental impact of further U.S. LNG expansion.
That freeze was lifted by the Trump administration, which has promised to unleash American energy. In February Commonwealth received a conditional non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) export authorization from the Department of Energy.
Commonwealth said it expects to reach a final investment decision in September 2025 for the project, with first LNG production expected in the first quarter of 2029.
In May JERA announced that it had signed an agreement with NextDecade to purchase 2 mtpa of LNG from its Rio Grande project’s fifth liquefaction facility.
(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by David Gregorio)
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