* Cheniere Energy Corpus Christi Train 5 operating at

full capacity

* Train 5 to add 1.5 million metric tons of LNG per year

* Corpus Christi feedgas intake hit nearly 2.5 bcf on

Friday

By Curtis Williams

HOUSTON, March 27 (Reuters) - Cheniere Energy's

Train 5 at its Corpus Christi liquefied natural gas expansion

project is now operating at full capacity, the company said on

Friday.

Train 5 is part of a seven-train development expected to add

10 million metric tons per year of export capacity to the Corpus

Christi LNG plant in Texas. The new unit will increase output by

just under 1.5 million tons a year, according to company

documents.

LNG trains are processing units that chill natural gas into

a super-cooled liquid for export. Global LNG supply is currently

hamstrung following Iran's attacks on facilities in Qatar, one

of the world's largest producers of the fuel.

Cheniere said contractor Bechtel handed over operations of

Train 5 on Friday.

Feedgas flows to Corpus Christi reached near-record levels

on Friday, with the facility pulling in almost 2.5 billion cubic

feet of gas, according to LSEG data.

CEO Jack Fusco told the CERAWeek energy conference on

Wednesday that Cheniere plans to send more cargoes to Asia,

which is facing shortages after the attacks that shut

QatarEnergy's LNG facilities.

QatarEnergy accounts for about 20% of global LNG supply and

has warned it could lose around 17% of its output for up to five

years after its sites were struck by an Iranian missile.

Cheniere, the largest U.S. LNG exporter, said it is working

to speed completion of the remaining two trains in the Corpus

Christi expansion.