SINGAPORE—Freeport LNG’s liquefied natural gas export plant in Texas has started commercial operation for its first liquefaction train, project partner JERA said on Dec. 10.

The added supply is expected to further weigh on spot prices which are already at their lowest ever for this time of the year, trade sources said.

The project started commercial operation on the first production line, or train, on Dec. 8, JERA said in a press release, adding that the project would produce LNG for export from natural gas procured in the United States.

The first commissioning cargo from the liquefaction facility located on Quintana Island in Freeport, Texas, was shipped in early September and was later offloaded at Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates, Refinitiv Eikon shipping data showed.

Japan’s Osaka Gas Co. Ltd. and JERA Co., a joint venture between Tokyo Electric Power Co. and Chubu Electric Power Co., will each lift half of Train 1’s total contracted capacity of about 4.64 million tonnes per year once commercial production starts.

Freeport has liquefaction tolling agreements from Train 1 that last about 20 years with Osaka Gas and JERA. Both companies will secure LNG without destination restrictions, helping them diversify supply sources and price indices, as well as enhance procurement stability and flexibility.