US regulators have granted LNG exporter Venture Global permission to proceed with construction of its proposed 28mn t/yr (3.75bn ft³/d) CP2 plant in Louisiana, according a filing today.
The key approval follows Venture Global chief executive Mike Sabel's 14 May request to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to reauthorize the project "as soon as possible" because of the regulatory delays CP2 has faced.
CP2, which would be Venture Global's third and biggest LNG terminal, first received FERC's construction authorization in June 2024. But in a November rehearing, the regulatory agency required a final supplemental environmental impact statement (EIS) and directed Venture Global to await a notice to proceed with construction until after the study was reviewed.
That study was finalized on 9 May and concluded CP2 would not significantly alter air quality.
Today's order negates the need for a notice to proceed with construction.
"Neither the presumptive stay … nor the Commission's regulations barring construction for a limited period pending rehearing will apply upon issuance of this order," the regulators wrote.
The site for the 36-train CP2 facility is adjacent to Venture Global's existing 12.4mn t/yr Calcasieu Pass plant in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. The company expects to reach a final investment decision (FID) for the 26-train first phase of CP2 by mid-2025, targeting first LNG in the second half of 2027 and the start of commercial service in mid-2029. The firm plans to reach an FID for the 10-train second phase in mid-2026, with commercial service beginning in mid-2030.
CP2 received a license from the US Department of Energy to export to countries that do not have free trade agreements with the US in March.
