US LNG export player Venture Global LNG has received approval from federal regulators to start commissioning the Block 8 liquefaction modules at its Calcasieu Pass plant in Louisiana.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said in a filing dated May 27 it had approved Venture Global’s recent request to launch the Block 8 liquefaction modules.
Earlier this month, Venture Global said it was seeking approval to put in service the first four liquefaction blocks at the facility.
FERC approved this on May 13, according to a filling.
To remind, Calcasieu Pass produced its first LNG on January 19 and shipped the first commissioning cargo on March 1.
Following completion, the project will have a capacity to produce 10 mtpa of LNG or 1.3 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) from 18 modular units configured in 9 blocks.
The US Energy Information Administration expects Venture Global LNG’s Calcasieu Pass liquefaction plant to reach full production by the third quarter of this year.
Most of Calcasieu Pass commissioning cargoes arrived in Europe due to high prices and as the continent looks to reduce reliance on Russian gas supplies.
The Calcasieu Pass project is the seventh US liquefaction and export facility to begin producing LNG since 2016.
It receives its feedgas through Venture Global’s TransCameron pipeline, which has interconnections with the ANR, TETCO, and Bridgeline pipelines.
The project has contracts with Shell, BP, Edison, Galp, Repsol, PGNiG, Sinopec’s unit Unipec, and CNOOC.
Besides this plant, Venture Global recently announced it had taken a final investment decision for the 13.33 mtpa Plaquemines LNG project and the related pipeline after it secured $13.2 billion in project financing.
This is the first LNG project located in the US to reach financial close since Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass facility in August 2019.