Cheniere Signs 22-Year LNG Agreement with Petrobras, Supplying About 800,000 Tons per Year

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On September 29, Brazil's state oil company Petrobras signed a long-term liquefied natural gas purchase and sale agreement with Cheniere Marketing, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Cheniere Energy. Under the contract, Petrobras will purchase approximately 800,000 tons of LNG per year over the 22-year contract term, with transactions executed on a free-on-board (FOB) basis. Based on the annual contract volume, the theoretical procurement scale over the entire agreement period is approximately 17.6 million tons. Petrobras did not disclose the total contract value, the timing of first delivery, or the specific pricing formula.

Petrobras stated that this long-term contract is intended to reduce the company's natural gas portfolio exposure to LNG spot market price volatility and to increase long-term supply sources needed to fulfill its natural gas sales contracts. In line with the FOB delivery method, Petrobras will arrange subsequent transportation and destination allocation itself after taking delivery of the cargo at the loading port. The contract does not stipulate that supply must enter any specific Brazilian LNG receiving terminal.

Supplier Cheniere currently operates two large LNG export facilities in the United States: Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi. With the final train of Corpus Christi Stage 3 achieving substantial completion in August 2026, Cheniere's combined LNG production capacity at its two U.S. Gulf Coast facilities has increased to approximately 56 million tons per year. The company is also advancing the Sabine Pass Phase 1 expansion, which plans to add a seventh large liquefaction train and a boil-off gas reliquefaction unit, with additional capacity exceeding 6 million tons per year. A final investment decision is planned for as early as early 2027.

This contract also adds a South American customer to Cheniere's long-term sales portfolio. The company's existing long-term contracts cover Asia, Europe, and other markets, with some of the newly added purchase and sale agreements having been used to support subsequent brownfield expansions at Sabine Pass and Corpus Christi. Cheniere disclosed that its current U.S. LNG capacity already exceeds 55 million tons per year and that it plans to further increase this to more than 60 million tons per year by the end of 2028.

Petrobras currently has LNG import and natural gas supply operations in Brazil and operates regasification facilities including those in Guanabara Bay, Rio de Janeiro. This 22-year contract locks in long-term procurement volumes and does not involve new liquefaction facilities or receiving terminal projects in Brazil. Key milestones to track going forward mainly include the contract's start of delivery date, the corresponding Cheniere supply facility, the pricing formula, and Petrobras's actual receiving terminal arrangements. These details have not yet been disclosed in currently public documents.