Venture Global LNG Export Terminals, Southwest Louisiana -- December 5, 2021

Updates

March 13, 2023: FID for Phase II. See LNG export list tag.

February 4, 2022: RBN Energy: Venture Global's Plaquemines project could lead next wave of US LNG development.

It’s expected to be a big year for U.S. LNG. The U.S. was the top monthly exporter of LNG for the first time in December 2021 and is expected to hold onto that crown as new capacity at Sabine Pass and a new terminal, Calcasieu Pass, begin service this year. 

The chaos of European gas markets has made U.S. exports particularly attractive, especially after a year or more of high global demand, sky-high global gas prices, and an undersupplied market that has left offtakers clamoring for more. 

Last year saw those offtakers come back to the negotiating table for long-term sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) from new U.S. LNG capacity and several projects now have a realistic path to a positive final investment decision (FID) in 2022. In today’s RBN blog we begin a series taking a closer look at some of the projects most likely to reach FID this year, starting with arguably the most likely next contender, Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG.

Original Post

Where do we begin? Where do we begin? 

This all started with an earlier post regarding US LNG exports. 

A reader alerted me to amazing projects under construction and under consideration by a company in Louisiana: Venture Global. Website here.

Early last year, RBN Energy had a great update on these export terminals: Holding On for Life - Second-Wave U.S. LNG Projects Stagnate Amid Market Uncertainty, April 16, 2020, more than a year and a half ago. The full article is archived.

Venture Global is working on projects, which when/if completed will produce about 50 mtpa vs "the much-ballyhooed expansion from Qatar" which is 49 mtpa. 

Once completed, I believe this will make the US the world's largest LNG exporter by capacity (2022). 

So, let's look at the projects.

First the map:

From a reader over the weekend:

• 10 mtpa Calcasieu Pass is now in test phase and will export LNG within a few week's time.
• Plaquemines Parish is identical to Calcasieu Pass but twice the size. (Essentially building 2 Calcasieu Pass on one site).
• CP2 is identical to Plaquemines Parish and adjacent to Calcasieu Pass.
• Cumulative output from these 3 projects will be ~50 mtpa, which surpasses the much ballyhooed expansion from Qatar which is ~49 mtpa.

From the VentureGlobal website:

• Calcasieu ("cal-cashew") Pass:
• currently under construction; southwestern Louisiana's Cameron Parish
• < 50 miles south of Lake Charles

Plaquemines (pronunciation here; "plak-a-mins"):

• under development;
• Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana; south of New Orleason
• on mile marker 55 of the Mississippi River

Delta LNG:

• under consideration;
• on a 524-acre site in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana on the Mississippi River

CP2 LNG:

• proposed