US Approves Additional Venture Global LNG Exports
Venture Global LNG said March 5 it has received approval from the US Department of Energy (DoE) to export LNG from its 10mn mt/yr Calcasieu Pass terminal in Louisiana to non-free trade agreement (FTA) countries.
The authorisation covers annual exports of up to 620bn ft3 of natural gas for 25 years, starting on the earlier of the date of the first export or seven years from the date of the requested authorisation. Venture Global recently received DoE approval to export LNG to FTA countries, while the Calcasieu Pass project was recently approved for construction by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc).
Venture Global said the approval now allows Calcasieu Pass buyers – Anglo-Dutch major Shell, UK major BP, French Edison, Portuguese Galp, Spain’s Repsol and Poland’s PGNiG – to deliver US natural gas worldwide. It has not yet taken final investment decision but the non-FTA export approval is the last milestone before that on its website. When it received Ferc approval it said February 22 that it would immediately start construction, which NGW took to mean that it had taken a final investment decision.