US LNG exporter Venture Global LNG has completed raising the roof on the third storage tank at its Plaquemines LNG export plant in Louisiana.
Venture Global announced the completion of this milestone in a short social media post on Tuesday.
The firm completed raising the roof on the second tank in April and the first tank in February.
McDermott’s unit CB&I won a contract from a unit of Venture Global to build the first two LNG storage tanks as part of the first phase. The second phase includes two tanks as well.
Venture Global previously said the roof of the first tank weighs 900 tons and is 294 feet (89.6 meters) in diameter.
Air raising allows for better and safer access as well as a faster construction schedule, as the roof can be erected concurrently with the shell.
Eventually, the tank will have an inner tank made from 9 percent nickel alloy and outer wall and outer roof made from concrete, it said.
Venture Global took a final investment decision in May last year on the first phase of the Plaquemines project with a capacity of 13.3 mtpa and the related pipeline. It also secured $13.2 billion in project financing.
In March this year, the company sanctioned the second phase of the Plaquemines LNG export plant in Louisiana and also secured $7.8 billion in project financing.
The full project, including the second stage, will have a capacity of 20 mtpa coming from 36 modular units, configured in 18 blocks.
Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG plant recently received its first liquefaction modules.
Baker Hughes ships these modular units to the US from its manufacturing facility in Italy, the same as the firm did for Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass project.
Venture Global hopes to start exports of LNG from the plant as soon as late 2024 and to complete the construction of both phases of the project by the end of 2026.