Federal regulators approved US LNG producer Venture Global's request to run natural gas into the final part of its 27.2mn t/yr (3.6 Bcf/d) Plaquemines export facility in Louisiana today.
With the approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Venture Global can now produce LNG from liquefaction block 17, putting all of the plant's 18 blocks into production less than a year since the first came on line in November 2024.
Each block consists of two modular, prefabricated trains.
The quick commissioning process at Plaquemines has already produced 170 LNG cargoes, judging by ship-tracking data from analytics firm Vortexa. But Venture Global does not expect the 12-block first phase to start commercial service, the point at which it delivers cargoes to its long-term offtake customers, until the fourth quarter of 2026. The six-block second phase would enter service in mid-2027. Until then, Venture Global can sell the cargoes on the spot market, often charging liquefaction fees at much higher levels than the fees in its long-term deals.
Venture Global exported 64 cargoes from Plaquemines in the third quarter this year, with a weighted average fixed liquefaction fee of $6.79/mn Btu, according to a 6 October filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Earlier this month, FERC signed off on Venture Global's request to push the deadline to begin commercial service by 15 months to 31 December 2027. Two offtakers, Chevron and Orlen, asked FERC to consider whether such an extension was necessary before the commission ultimately approved it. Orlen has pending arbitration proceedings against Venture Global pertaining to delays of commercial operations at the 12.4mn t/yr Calcasieu Pass facility.
Feedgas nominations to Plaquemines LNG averaged 3.45 Bcf/d over 1-20 October, up from nearly zero a year ago (see chart). The ramp-up has shifted a key regional spot index's day-ahead differentials to the US benchmark Henry Hub. The premium at Tennessee Gas Pipeline's (TGP) Louisiana 500 Leg, an indicator for prices in south Louisiana, averaged 39.3¢/mn Btu in the three months ended 30 September, more than four times higher than the 8.9¢/mn Btu over the same span in 2024 (see chart).
