Cheniere expects Sabine export approval in days

By Edward McAllister

NEW YORK, June 3 (Reuters) - Cheniere Energy (LNG.A) expects to get final government approval to re-export liquefied natural gas from its Sabine Pass import terminal in Louisiana in the coming days, the company's chief executive said on Wednesday.

Cheniere is awaiting approval from the U.S. Department of Energy to re-export foreign-sourced gas from Sabine Pass, after receiving the green light from the federal energy regulator (FERC) on Friday.

"When we get DoE approval we will be in a position to look at exports [from Sabine]," Charif Souki, Cheniere's chief executive officer, told Reuters. "Hopefully we will get that in the next few days."

The aim is for Cheniere to buy and import cheaper LNG during the summer, to store and re-export when prices are higher, most likely in winter.

The U.S. LNG terminal developer and marketer has the option to send one cargo a month to the Isle of Grain terminal in the UK under a swap deal with GdF Suez signed in 2007. However, Souki said that cargoes would not necessarily be sent to the UK.

"It opens up options for us," he said.

Currently Sabine Pass is an import-only terminal, but the modifications needed to re-load LNG back onto ships is minimal and only expected to take a day or two once approval is given.

Freeport LNG's import terminal in Texas has recently received FERC and DoE approval to re-export LNG, like Cheniere, to take advantage of seasonal prices changes.

"Freeport got DoE approval very quickly after FERC approval and we hope it will be the same for us," Souki said.

(Reporting by Edward McAllister; Editing by David Gregorio)