Cheniere Energy moves closer to starting new Texas LNG export operation

HOUSTON (Reuters) - Cheniere Energy moved one step closer to producing first liquefied natural gas from a Corpus Christi, Texas, expansion project on Thursday after it received permission from federal regulators to put a supply line into operation.

Cheniere is the largest U.S. LNG exporter and the world's second largest producer of the superchilled gas. The company has played a key role in helping the U.S. become the world's largest exporter of LNG.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order on Thursday allowing Cheniere to take liquefied gas from the plant to refrigerated liquid storage facilities and then onto an LNG tanker for export.

Cheniere has said it wants to produce first LNG from its Corpus Christi Stage 3 facility by the end of the year, which will expand U.S. LNG export capacity.

Stage 3 is comprised of seven gas-processing units with an expected capacity of approximately 10 million metric tons per year of LNG.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Bill Berkrot)