Cheniere Energy Inc. (LNG) told federal regulators Tuesday that construction is ahead of schedule on what would be the first liquefied natural gas export terminal in the lower U.S.

Cheniere, which in April gained complete federal approval for its project to export 2.2 billion cubic feet of gas a day from a terminal on Louisiana's Gulf Coast, is currently the only company in the lower 48 U.S. states to hold government permits to export LNG to countries not part of U.S. free-trade agreements. A boom in natural gas production in the U.S. led to a supply glut that sent prices to a decade-low earlier this year and made U.S. natural gas attractive to buyers in Asia and Europe , where gas prices are much higher.

In its October monthly progress report with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Cheniere said construction was six months ahead of contracted schedule for the Sabine Pass export terminal's Train 1, a liquefaction unit originally scheduled to open in early 2016. Construction was 11 months ahead of schedule for Train 2, which had been slated to start operating in early 2017. Overall, the project is nearly 15% complete.

"We're targeting LNG production at year end 2015," a Cheniere spokesman said.

Cheniere expects to start construction of two additional trains in 2013. The Houston-based company has said it is also looking into the possibility of adding a fifth and sixth train to its plans for Sabine Pass , which would bring the site's total liquefaction capacity to about 3 billion cubic feet of gas a day.

Companies seeking to cash in on the low U.S. natural gas prices have filed 18 LNG export permit applications with the Department of Energy. The government agency suspended further permit approvals earlier this year pending a study on possible economic impacts of shipping natural gas overseas.
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