HOUSTON, April 2 (Reuters) - There was a significant

decline on Tuesday in the amount of U.S. natural gas being

liquefied for export with a drop in demand from Cheniere

Energy's Corpus Christi plant in Texas and its Sabine

Pass operation in Louisiana, according to data from financial

firm LSEG.

Cheniere is the largest U.S. producer and the world's second

largest exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as well as the

largest buyer of natural gas in the United States.

The United States overall was the world's largest exporter

of LNG last year, according to the U.S Energy Information

Administration.

At Corpus Christi the demand was down by close to one

billion cubic feet, to 3.95 bcf from its regular 5 bcf and at

Sabine Pass it was at 1.6 bcf, down from the usual 2.2 bcf.

Cheniere declined to comment.

The fall in demand from Cheniere is happening at the same

time that U.S. LNG exports remained flat in March due to ongoing

repair work at the country's second largest LNG facility,

Freeport LNG.

Analysts do not expect U.S. LNG feedgas to return to record

levels until all three liquefaction trains at Freeport LNG's

export plant in Texas return to service.

Freeport has said it expects Trains 1 and 2 to remain shut

until May for inspections and repairs, while Train 3 was

operating. Each Freeport train can turn about 0.7 bcfd of gas

into LNG.

On a daily basis, LNG feedgas fell to a 10-week low of 11.3

bcfd.

Gas flows to the seven big U.S. LNG export plants fell to an

average of 11.9 bcfd so far in April, down from 13.1 bcfd in

March. That compares with a monthly record of 14.7 bcfd in

December.

(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston and Scott DiSavino in

New York; editing by Costas Pitas)