US FERC to prepare supplemental EIS for Venture Global’s CP2 LNG project

In July last year, the regulator issued a final environmental impact statement for the CP2 LNG project, Venture Global’s third LNG export terminal.

In a 2-1 decision, FERC commissioners approved the project and the project’s pipeline during a meeting in June this year.

Besides the FERC approval, CP2 LNG also needs non-FTA export authorization from the US Department of Energy.

The CP2 LNG plant will be located next to Venture Global’s existing Calcasieu Pass liquefaction plant in Louisiana, which is still in the commissioning phase.

It will have 18 liquefaction blocks, each with a capacity of about 1.1 mtpa of LNG, and also four 200,000-cbm full containment LNG storage tanks.

According to a filing dated November 27, FERC issued an order setting aside its approval of the CP2 LNG export facility.

The decision comes in response to a request for rehearing filed by Sierra Club, NRDC, and a broad coalition of community and environmental organizations.

“The rehearing order set aside the authorization order, in part, regarding the Commission’s analysis of the cumulative air quality impacts specific to the projects’ nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particles with an aerodynamic diameter of less than or equal to 2.5 microns (PM2.5) emissions,” the regulator said.

FERC said this is to conduct an additional environmental review in light of an opinion issued by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

The regulator set a schedule for the preparation of the supplemental environmental impact statement that will include the new analysis.

This planned schedule is based on issuance of the draft SEIS in February 2025, opening a 45-day comment period.

FERC plans to issue a notice of availability of the final SEIS on May 9, 2025, and to

“We currently anticipate issuing a final order for the projects no later than July 24, 2025,” FERC said.