Golden Pass LNG Targets April 20 for First Export Cargo as QatarEnergy and ExxonMobil Texas Terminal Reaches 6 MTPA Capacity

The Golden Pass LNG export terminal near Sabine Pass, Texas, is expected to receive its first LNG carrier for export loading on April 20, when the tanker HL Sea Eagle is scheduled to arrive and take on the facility's inaugural cargo of liquefied natural gas. The milestone marks the commercial activation of a project that has been under construction since 2019 and cost approximately $10 billion to build.

Golden Pass LNG Terminal LLC is a joint venture between affiliates of ExxonMobil (30 percent) and QatarEnergy (70 percent). Train 1 achieved first LNG production on March 31, 2026, following the completion of construction and commissioning by the McDermott and Chiyoda International Corporation joint venture that served as engineering, procurement, and construction contractor.

Capacity and Commercial Structure

Train 1 alone carries a nameplate liquefaction capacity of 6 million metric tonnes per annum. When all three trains at Golden Pass are operational, the facility will be capable of producing more than 18 MTPA of LNG, placing it among the largest export terminals in the United States. QatarEnergy's 70 percent stake translates to just over 4 MTPA of allocated production from Train 1, with ExxonMobil taking the remaining approximately 2 MTPA.

Trains 2 and 3 remain under active construction by the same McDermott-Chiyoda joint venture, with first production from those units expected in subsequent years as the project reaches full operational capacity.

Strategic Timing Amid Supply Disruptions

Golden Pass' commercial startup comes at a pivotal moment for global LNG markets. QatarEnergy declared force majeure in late March 2026 affecting an estimated 12.8 million tonnes per year of supply linked to the Strait of Hormuz crisis, according to prior reporting. While Golden Pass does not directly replace Hormuz-routed Qatari cargoes, it provides incremental Atlantic Basin supply at a time when European buyers are actively seeking alternatives to Middle East sources.

Europe has absorbed roughly 68 percent of total US LNG exports since the reorientation of trade flows that began following the 2022 Ukraine conflict. The full-year 2026 forecast from the US Energy Information Administration projects total American LNG exports will reach 17.0 billion cubic feet per day, surpassing the previous record of 15.1 Bcf/d set in 2025 and topping the agency's earlier forecast of 16.4 Bcf/d.

Henry Hub Softness Widens Export Margins

The commercial economics underpinning Golden Pass' first cargo are highly favorable. Henry Hub natural gas spot prices have hovered near $2.65 per MMBtu in mid-April 2026, close to their lowest levels since late 2024, reflecting ample domestic supply and a 50 billion cubic foot storage injection for the week ended April 3 that exceeded analyst expectations. That soft feedgas cost, combined with European and Asian import prices that remain well above $10 per MMBtu equivalent, creates a wide margin for US LNG exporters.

The EIA projects US terminal utilization rates will run near maximum capacity throughout 2026 as producers and traders exploit that spread. The Corpus Christi LNG expansion, which shipped its first cargo in March 2025, and the Plaquemines LNG facility, which dispatched its inaugural commissioning cargo in December 2024, have already absorbed available feedgas supply without meaningfully lifting Henry Hub prices, reflecting the depth of US natural gas resources available to the export sector.

North American LNG Capacity Outlook

Golden Pass is the ninth operating LNG export terminal in the United States by some counts, joining Sabine Pass, Corpus Christi, Hackberry, Cove Point, Elba Island, Freeport, Cameron, and Plaquemines. Sabine Pass, operated by ConocoPhillips-backed Cheniere Energy, remains the largest single facility with capacity of approximately 4.0 Bcf/d.

Further expansions are in various stages of development or regulatory approval. The EIA projects total US LNG export capacity will nearly double compared to December 2025 levels by 2031, cementing the country's position as the world's largest LNG exporter, a status the US claimed from Australia and Qatar in recent years.

For Canadian natural gas producers, particularly those in British Columbia and Alberta with direct or indirect access to the LNG Canada terminal at Kitimat, the record US export pace and widening international spreads reinforce the long-term investment case for Canadian LNG infrastructure. Western Canadian dry gas production has been growing alongside gas rig activity, which has bucked the broader North American rig count decline that has seen oil rigs fall 8 year-over-year in Canada while gas rigs have added 5.