Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG export terminal in Louisiana is one step closer to receiving federal approval for construction, as US energy regulators issued a final environmental report. Namely, FERC decided that construction and operation of the project would result in some adverse environmental impacts, but those would be reduced to less-than-significant levels with proper mitigation.
According to Venture Global, it expects to receive that FERC decision in August, as well as authorization from the US Department of Energy to allow it to export LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries in late 2019.
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This will enable the company to reach a final investment decision and begin construction in late 2019 with first LNG expected in late 2022.
As Reuters reports, the company is building Plaquemines to produce around 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG, which equals to nearly 2.7 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of natural gas.
What is more, Venture Global also has two more LNG export projects in Louisiana, while it has already made a final investment decision to construct its 10-MTPA Calcasieu Pass facility. The latter is planned to start operations in 2022. The company is also developing the 24-MTPA Delta project, which will launch in 2023.
US LNG export capacity is projected to increase to 7.4 bcfd by the end of 2019 and 10.0 bcfd by the end of 2020 from 5.2 bcfd, with the US being the third biggest LNG exporter globally by capacity at the end of 2018.
