UPDATE 2-LNG producer Cheniere misses profit estimates on weak prices

(Adds results details and comparison from paragraph 4)

May 3 (Reuters) - Top U.S. liquefied natural gas producer Cheniere Energy missed analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit on Friday, hit by a fall in natural gas prices and lower open market sales.

U.S. natural gas prices plunged to a three-and-a-half-year low in February and stayed below $2 per million British thermal units for much of the first quarter.

The company attributed a $697 million reduction in revenue to U.S. Henry Hub gas pricing to which the majority of its long-term LNG sales contracts are indexed.

Its delivered LNG volumes for short-term agreements slumped 35.2% to 70 trillion British thermal unit while lower international gas prices also dented its margins.

However, overall loaded LNG volumes remained roughly flat year-on-year as the bulk of its exports are tied to long-term contracts.

Cheniere Energy reported a net income of $2.13 per share for the first-quarter, compared with analysts' average estimate of $2.24, according to LSEG data.

The Houston, Texas-based firm reported LNG revenue of $4.04 billion for the three months ended March 31, compared with $7.09 billion in the year-ago quarter.

The company said the first LNG production from the first liquefaction train at its Corpus Christ Stage 3 expansion project would be achieved by the end of 2024.

Cheniere currently has the capacity to produce about 45 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG at Corpus Christi and Sabine Pass in Texas.

The company re-affirmed its adjusted core profit forecast of $5.5 billion to $6 billion.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)