Houston (Agencies): Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSE: LNG) has entered into a 15-year Integrated Production Marketing (IPM) agreement with Canadian Natural Resources Limited, securing 140,000 MMBtu/day of natural gas supply starting in 2030. The gas will be used to produce approximately 0.85 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, which will be marketed by Cheniere Marketing.
The agreement is contingent upon a Final Investment Decision (FID) on Cheniere’s Sabine Pass Liquefaction Expansion Project, which aims to add up to 20 mtpa of capacity to its existing infrastructure.
Under the deal, Cheniere will pay a price linked to the Platts Japan Korea Marker (JKM), a leading Asian LNG benchmark, with deductions for shipping and liquefaction fees. This reflects a strategic shift toward market-linked gas pricing in LNG contracts.
Cheniere, the largest U.S. LNG exporter, currently operates 46 mtpa of capacity, with an additional 8+ mtpa under construction. The SPL Expansion Project is expected to further strengthen the U.S. Gulf Coast’s role as a global LNG hub amid rising demand from Asia and Europe.
Industry analysts note that the agreement enhances long-term supply security and aligns with global trends favoring stable LNG contracts amid geopolitical and market volatility. The deal also reinforces confidence in JKM as a global pricing reference, further decoupling U.S. LNG pricing from Henry Hub.