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Calcasieu Pass produced its first LNG on January 19, 2022, moving from FID to LNG production in 29 months, and the first commissioning cargo left the facility on March 1, 2022.
However, Venture Global has not yet declared commercial operations at the facility.
In February last year, Venture Global asked FERC to extend the in-service deadline for the facility for one additional year, or by February 21, 2025.
The 10 mtpa Calcasieu Pass facility consists of 18 modular units configured in 9 blocks.
Customers of the Calcasieu pass facility include Shell, BP, Repsol, Edison, Galp, PGNiG, now part of Orlen, Sinopec’s unit Unipec, and CNOOC.
Energy giants Shell and BP and other firms are in an dispute with Venture Global over the launch of commercial operations at the facility and they previously launched arbitration proceedings against Venture Global.
HRSG issues
While construction of the Calcasieu Pass LNG terminal has largely concluded, Venture Global is undertaking several projects to correct equipment performance deficiencies, including a project to correct heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) performance issues in the power island, FERC said in an inspection report dated January 22.
Since the previous FERC virtual construction inspection in November 2024, HRSG 374 has completed the HRSG remediation and has been returned to service,” the regulator said.
Initial results show the repairs have been successful, and HRSG 374 water consumption will continue to be monitored by site personnel, according to the report.
FERC said work is ongoing with the next HRSG requiring tube repairs.
“At the time of the inspection, HRSG 371 was out of service, with all old tubes removed, reinstallation and welding of replacement tube assemblies was pending delayed due to cold
weather,” it said.
FERC said its staff will continue to monitor the progress of HRSG 371 and review associated conditions of the order that require FERC review and approval prior to the reintroduction of hazardous fluids in these systems.
“To date, four of the five HRSGS have had their permanent boiler tube repairs. The fifth and final HRSG remediation project is underway on HRSG 371, and completion is expected by February 2025,” FERC said.
Temporary modification no longer beneficial
In addition, FERC staff and Venture Global also discussed a temporary modification to install temporary power generators to supplement for the power from the gas turbine and HRSG string out of service during the HRSG repairs.
“Power loss from the gas turbines generators is greater in warmer weather and temporary power would be needed to operate the facility at full rates. However, Venture Global has progressed the final HRSG repairs to a point where the temporary power modification is no longer operationally beneficial,” FERC said.
FERC said Venture Global is no longer pursuing the temporary power modifications.
“If Venture Global reevaluates the need for the temporary power modification, they would file plans and procedures for the implementation of temporary power, and FERC staff would review their plans and procedures for compliance with conditions of the order and issue notices to proceed as necessary,” the regulator said.
Equipment performance
Venture Global also updated FERC staff on the progress of other efforts to correct unexpected equipment performance.
“At the time of the inspection, two gas processing units had completed outages to implement modifications to remedy performance shortfalls and the third was being restarted following its outage,” FERC said.
The regulator said modifications to the gas processing had “notable performance improvements.”
“FERC staff found that the Venture Global team was approaching the diagnosis and remediation of the equipment performance in a careful, technically sound manner to correctly identify the problem, and work collaboratively with the equipment vendor and other industry experts to establish a permanent solution to resolve the equipment performance,” it said.
Moreover, other remediation efforts include design modifications to several pumps and replacing power supply cables.
“FERC staff will continue to track Venture Global’s progress in resolving these open equipment performance issues. As these remediation evaluations continue, if solutions are identified requiring construction of new, or modification of existing installations, Venture Global would provide construction packages to FERC for review and approval,” the regulator said.