Venture Global requests FERC permission to start Calcasieu Pass

The US’s second-largest LNG producer, Venture Global, has requested approval from federal regulators to begin operations at the firm’s Calcasieu Pass LNG export terminal and its TransCameron pipeline project in Louisiana, Reuters reported on March 25.

In a filing to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the company stated that it had made significant progress on repair work at the facility and now believes it can begin producing LNG at its nameplate capacity of 10.7mn tonnes per year (tpy).

The Arlington-Virginia headquartered company has asked for the green light from FERC by April 1. If approved, Venture Global would attempt to start commercial operation by April 15. The company first notified its foundation customers of this potential start-up date back in February.

If commercial operations begin mid-April as desired, it will mark 68 months since the final investment decision (FID) was successfully taken in August 2019.

The LNG plant has been mired in controversy amid a long-running disputelong-running dispute with its eight foundation customers based in Europe. One of its offtakers, Shell, has accused the firm of “wrongfully earning” $3.5bn through selling the cargoes on the spot market at higher prices while neglecting its contractual obligations.

Venture Global has contended that the Calcasieu Pass plant has not yet entered the commissioning phase because of faulty equipment requiring repairs, as well as delays caused by hurricanes on the US Gulf Coast and the Covid-19 pandemic. Consequently, it says it is not obliged yet to begin delivering contracted cargoes.

Pending arbitration claims against Venture Global have climbed to $5.9bn with all eight foundation customers filing with the International Court of Arbitration. 

During Shell’s capital markets day, CEO Wael Sawan stated that he expects updates from the arbitration case in the coming months.

According to Sawan, the Calcasieu Pass project first began delivering cargoes on the spot market in early 2022 and has now sold more than 400 cargoes.