Venture Global LNG has received approval from federal regulators to start commissioning the Block 4 liquefaction modules at its Calcasieu Pass plant in Louisiana.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) said in a filing dated February 8 it has approved Venture Global’s recent request to launch the Block 4 liquefaction modules.
FERC granted the same approval for the Block 1 liquefaction modules and the south LNG tank in November, followed by the second and third block as well.
Once completed, Calcasieu Pass will produce about 10 mtpa of LNG from 18 modular units configured in 9 blocks.
Venture Global LNG is expected to ship the first commissioning cargo from its Calcasieu Pass terminal soon, following the arrival of the 174,000-cbm tanker Yiannis at the plant.
The 2021-built LNG carrier, owned by Greece’s Maran Gas, docked at the Calcasieu Pass facility on Monday, according to its AIS data.
Venture Global said in a report sent to FERC last week it had started producing LNG at its Calcasieu Pass terminal on January 19.
After that, it requested permission from FERC to “load Calcasieu Pass’s first LNG export commissioning cargo on or after February 9, 2022.”
The project is the seventh operational large LNG export facility in the US.
Calcasieu Pass has contracts with Shell, BP, Edison, Galp, Repsol, PGNiG, Sinopec’s unit Unipec, and CNOOC.