Cheniere Energy Inc. has signed an agreement for Tourmaline Oil Corp. to supply natural gas for an expansion project at Cheniere’s Corpus Christi export terminal in South Texas at prices linked to the Asian spot market. 

The deal brings Cheniere another step closer to sanctioning the Stage 3 liquefied natural gas (LNG) export expansion project, but it also shows the company’s willingness to turn the traditional project financing model on its head. Under the agreement, an affiliate of Tourmaline, Canada’s largest natural gas producer, would supply the expansion with 140,000 MMBtu/d of natural gas for 15 years beginning in 2023. 

But Cheniere would pay Tourmaline for the gas at prices linked to the Japan-Korea Marker (JKM), a pure-LNG benchmark. Cheniere would then market...