US firm Venture Global LNG said it has taken a final investment decision for the first phase of its Plaquemines LNG export plant and the related pipeline in Louisiana. The company also secured $13.2 billion in project financing.
Venture Global said in a statement on Wednesday that this transaction represents the largest project financing in the world closed to date in 2022.
Also, this is the first LNG project located in the US to reach financial close since Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass facility in August 2019, it said.
The proceeds of the debt and equity financing fully fund the balance of construction and commissioning of the initial phase.
Vetnure Global said the lender group for the company’s construction financing includes the world’s leading banks, spanning multiple continents.
Some of the lenders are Bank of America, Bank of China, Deutsche Bank, ING Capital, JPMorgan Chase Bank, Royal Bank of Canada, and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking.
Upsized project
Venture Global also boosted the size of the initial phase of the project to 13.33 mtpa.
It previously said the first phase would have 10 mtpa capacity, while the second phase would have 20 mtpa capacity.
The company has executed 20-year sales and purchase agreements (SPAs) for 80 percent of the full 20 mtpa project.
Plaquemines LNG phase one customers include PGNiG, Sinopec, CNOOC, Shell, and EDF.
As per the second phase, customers announced to date include ExxonMobil, Petronas, and New Fortress Energy.
Venture Global is also working on the company’s third facility, CP2, and it has signed two SPAs with ExxonMobil and New Fortress Energy for this project. The 20 mtpa CP2 LNG facility will be located in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.
First LNG in 2024
Venture Global did not provide the timeline for the Plaquemines LNG project in the newest statement, but it previously said that it would launch the first phase in 2024.
The project’s main contractors are KBR and Zachry.
Chart secured orders for both of the phases from Baker Hughes to provide cold boxes and brazed aluminum heat exchangers. Honeywell will also provide its tech to the project.
Plaquemines LNG will deploy Venture Global’s liquefaction trains identical to the units at its Calcasieu Pass project.
The full facility will have up to thirty-six 0.626 mtpa liquefaction trains, configured in eighteen blocks.
“The Venture Global team is proud to announce FID on our second project, Plaquemines LNG, just months after exports began at Calcasieu Pass. I want to thank our team for their tireless efforts to support this remarkable achievement,” Mike Sabel, CEO of Venture Global LNG, said.
He said Plaquemines LNG would build on the success of Calcasieu Pass, which broke global records for speed and execution.
Sabel said the project had attracted “robust financial and commercial support” which enabled the firm to formally sanction this project at a “critical moment” for energy markets.
“Speed matters more than ever and Venture Global is uniquely positioned to quickly bring US LNG to the market to support global energy security and environmental progress,” Sabel said.