Cheniere Energy Partners said its board made a positive final investment decision to build the first two liquefaction trains of the Sabine Pass liquefaction project, subject to the closing of the debt financing, funding of the initial equity investment, and funding of the remaining equity investment by Cheniere Energy, Inc.

Freeport LNG Expansion said that it signed 20-year liquefaction tolling agreements with Osaka Gas Co. and Chubu Electric Power Co. covering 100% of the liquefaction capacity of the first train of Freeport LNG's proposed natural gas liquefaction and LNG loading facility near Freeport, Texas. The Japanese utilities acquired rights to the 4.4 mtpa production capacity of the first train at Freeport over an initial 20-year term. Freeport LNG said it's in exclusive negotiations for the second and third trains of the liquefaction project, and definitive agreements for their full capacity are expected to be completed before year-end.

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. will post a notice in the July 30 Federal Register saying it received an application to support the export of about $2.3 billion in U.S. petrochemical equipment and services to expand petrochemical production at an existing facility in India. It said the Indian petrochemical producer plans to sell most of its output in India. Comments can be sent to economic.impact@exim.gov or to 811 Vermont Avenue, N.W., Room 432, Washington, DC 20571 by Aug. 13, it said.

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. is publishing a notice in the Federal Register that it received an application for final commitment for a long-term loan or financial guarantee in excess of $100 million to support the sale of Boeing 737 aircraft to Norway's Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA. Comments are due by Aug. 22 to WWW.REGULATIONS.GOV.

The Agricultural Marketing Service released the “Ocean Shipping Container Availability Report” for the week of July 25-31. The weekly report contains data on container availability for westbound transpacific traffic at 18 intermodal locations in the U.S.¹ from the 10 member carriers of the Westbound Transpacific Stabilization Agreement (WTSA)². Although the report is compiled by AMS, it covers container availability for all merchandise, not just agricultural products.

The Bureau of Industry and Security issued a notice amending the Export Administration Regulations at 15 CFR Part 774 Supplement No. 1 (the Commerce Control List) to correct 10 ECCNs. Changes are as follows:

The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. approved two separate transactions totaling more than $1.2 billion to finance the export of American-made telecommunications satellites to Mexico and Australia.

Effective immediately, the Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) tables in the AES have been updated to accept the changes to the 2012 codes, the Census Bureau said. AES will accept shipments with outdated 2012 codes during a grace period for 30 days beyond the expiration date of June 30, 2012. Reporting an outdated 2012 code after the 30 day grace period will result in a fatal error, it said.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said proposed changes to the Freeport LNG Development project to prepare and export liquified natural gas require an Environmental Impact Statement, and is seeking public comment. The project is in Brazoria County, Texas.

The Census Bureau cancelled the Automated Export System Compliance Seminar and an AESPcLink Workshop in Virginia Beach, Va., that it had set for July 24-25, it said in AES Broadcast #2012048. Census reminded exporters that there will be another AES Compliance Seminar and AESPcLink Workshop in Newton, Mass., Aug. 1-2. At the seminar on Aug. 1, Census experts will cover the filing requirements of the Foreign Trade Regulations, Schedule B classification requirements, and provide an overview of AES. On Aug. 2, two AESPcLink Workshops will be conducted. Email documents@brokerpower.com for a copy of this message.