Financial research concept

LNG Variable Liquefaction Fee

is the variable SPA price component primarily indexed to U.S. natural gas and structured to cover feedgas, transportation, and liquefaction fuel costs.

By Lee BaileyPublished Sep 25, 2026

Research context

See what supports this page, how current it is, and where comparable or historical context is available.

Research date: Sep 25, 2026Use the dated article and cited sources for the definition, examples, and stated limitations.
Operating-model context: 18 connected conceptsPart of the reviewed LNG Export & Liquefaction Economics; issuer definitions remain distinct where disclosed.
Company examples: 1 reviewed companyRelationships reflect supported examples, not a normalized cross-company KPI ranking.

The 115% formula means a 15% uplift to the Henry Hub reference
Fixed and variable fees solve different economic jobs
Henry Hub linkage reduces but does not eliminate commodity and basis risk
Part of the LNG Export & Liquefaction Economics
See It in Company Research
Continue Research

LNG Variable Liquefaction Fee is the gas-linked SPA price component designed primarily to cover feedgas, transportation, and liquefaction-fuel economics.

Cheniere reported that the variable component is generally 115% of Henry Hub under its long-term SPA structure.

The 115% formula means a 15% uplift to the Henry Hub reference

For each $1.00/MMBtu of Henry Hub reference price, a 115% formula corresponds to $1.15/MMBtu before considering contract-specific details.

That 15% uplift is not automatically profit because the variable component is intended to cover gas and related costs.

Fixed and variable fees solve different economic jobs

The fixed fee compensates for reserved liquefaction capacity, while the variable fee tracks gas-linked costs.

Use LNG Fixed Liquefaction Fee to separate capacity economics from feedgas-linked economics.

Henry Hub linkage reduces but does not eliminate commodity and basis risk

Regional basis, transportation, fuel usage, derivatives, operational efficiency, and marketing can still cause realized economics to differ from the simple 115% formula.

This is a pricing mechanism, not a guaranteed margin.

Primary source: Cheniere Energy 2025 Form 10-K.

Part of the LNG Export & Liquefaction Economics

Connect liquefaction capacity, cargo timing, long-term contract coverage, Henry Hub-linked fee structure, marketing volumes, and remaining contracted revenue across an LNG export platform.

Browse the full operating model in Company Analysis →

Where this concept fits

Fee structure and remaining contract valueCurrent relationship
Fixed liquefaction fees provide capacity-linked contractual economics, variable fees primarily track Henry Hub-linked feedgas costs, and remaining fixed and variable fee revenue show the scale of future contractual consideration under Cheniere's stated assumptions. Regasification capacity remains a separate import-terminal capability.
LNG Fixed Liquefaction Fee LNG Regasification Capacity LNG Remaining Fixed-Fee Revenue LNG Remaining Variable-Fee RevenueLNG Variable Liquefaction FeeCurrent concept
Capacity and contract coverage
Total and under-construction liquefaction capacity show the physical production envelope, while contracted-production percentage and weighted-average contract life show how much anticipated output is covered by long-duration customer agreements.
LNG Capacity Under Construction LNG Contract Weighted-Average Remaining Life LNG Long-Term Contracted Production Percentage LNG Total Production Capacity
Physical loading, delivery, and revenue recognition
Loaded, in-transit, and recognized volumes bridge physical cargo activity to accounting timing, while long-term, short-term, and third-party procured volumes and revenues separate owned-project contract sales from marketing and externally sourced LNG.
LNG In-Transit Volume LNG Loaded Volume LNG Long-Term Agreement Delivered Volume LNG Long-Term Agreement Revenue LNG Recognized Volume LNG Short-Term Delivered Volume LNG Short-Term Sales Revenue LNG Third-Party Procured Revenue LNG Third-Party Procured Volume

See It in Company Research

These companies are examples of how the concept is reported or discussed in public filings. Definitions can differ by issuer; these links open company research rather than a normalized metric comparison.

LNGOpen operating-model research →18 of 18 reviewed concepts in LNG Export & Liquefaction EconomicsFee structure and remaining contract value5 of 5 bridge concepts supportedContinue through this bridge:LNG Fixed Liquefaction Fee LNG Regasification Capacity LNG Remaining Fixed-Fee Revenue LNG Remaining Variable-Fee Revenue

Continue Research

Continue from the concept into the Grizzly Bulls research surface that best matches the next question. These links are research continuations, not recommendations or required steps.

Continue Research

Compare public companies

Compare the 115% Henry Hub pricing mechanism with the fixed capacity fee without treating the 15% uplift as margin.

Continue research

Explore more topics in the Financial Research Encyclopedia.