US LNG exporter Venture Global LNG said it is “deeply disappointed” that its proposed CP2 LNG project is yet again absent from the FERC agenda.
“It has been eight months since FERC issued a final environmental impact statement for CP2, making it one of the longest to ever sit before the Commission,” Venture Global said on Thursday.
“We remain confident that we have met or exceeded all regulatory requirements that are necessary to move forward with the project,” it said.
The CP2 LNG plant will be located next to Venture Global’s existing Calcasieu Pass liquefaction plant in Louisiana.
It will have 18 liquefaction blocks, each with a capacity of about 1.1 mtpa of LNG, but also four 200,000-cbm full containment LNG storage tanks.
FERC issued a positive final environmental impact statement for the project in July last year.
Besides the FERC approval, CP2 LNG also needs the non-FTA export authorization from the US Department of Energy.
However, the Biden administration said in January it will “temporary pause” pending decisions for LNG export terminals.
The US paused pending decisions on exports of LNG to non-FTA countries until the DOE can update the underlying analyses for authorizations.
First phase almost sold out
Venture Global wrote to FERC last month urging the regulator to approve the CP2 LNG project at its next open meeting on March 21.
“Relying on what has historically been a fair and predictable regulatory regime, free from political interference, we have launched off-site construction and spent billions of dollars on the project. First LNG is expected in 2026 should the federal government act without further delay to approve CP2,” the company said on Thursday.
Venture Global said the first phase is nearly sold out with 9.25 mtpa of 10 mtpa contracted, and “2/3 of that capacity is committed to our allies in Germany and Japan who are counting on the LNG to replace lost Russian volumes.”
In June last year, Venture Global signed a sales and purchase deal with German gas importer Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE).
SEFE joined other CP2 LNG customers, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Jera, New Fortress Energy, Inpex, China Gas, and EnBW.
Australian engineering firm Worley secured a reimbursable engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for the first phase of the LNG project.
Commissioning of Calcasieu Pass
In February, Venture Global LNG requested more time from the FERC to complete the commissioning of its Calcasieu Pass LNG export terminal.
Calcasieu Pass produced its first LNG on January 19, 2022, and the first commissioning cargo left the facility on March 1.
However, Venture Global has not yet declared the start of commercial operations at the 10 mtpa facility which consists of 18 modular units configured in 9 blocks.
Long-term customers of the Calcasieu pass facility include Shell, BP, Edison, Repsol, Galp, and PGNiG.
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 previously launched arbitration proceedings against Venture Global.
The offtakers have also recently opposed the extension request from Venture Global.
In a filling earlier this week, FERC asked Venture Global to explain why reports on its Calcasieu Pass LNG plant need to be kept confidential.
Venture Global responded on Thursday asking the regulator to keep the documents confidential.
The company submitted a form of protective agreement for use in these proceedings if and to the extent it becomes applicable.
“During the years prior to issuance of the authorization order and the subsequent years of the implementation process, no parties in this proceeding had requested access to any confidential filings, and Calcasieu Pass has not previously filed a form of protective agreement,” it said.
“After Calcasieu Pass recently filed for a one-year extension of the in-service condition set forth in the authorization order to the extent that the Commission deems it necessary, various entities that are not parties in this proceeding have requested access to such material,” Venture Global said.
“As Calcasieu Pass will explain in a separate filing, it opposes those requests,” the firm said.