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Venture Global is set to start producing liquefied natural gas at its second giant plant on the US Gulf coast within days, as the company prepares to float in one of the US’s largest energy listings.
The LNG developer, which is engaged in a bitter stand-off with Shell and BP, this week received key regulatory approvals required to turn on its Plaquemines facility in Louisiana, said people familiar with the matter.
The facility will be the US’s eighth major LNG export terminal and its second biggest, and will switch on just weeks before Donald Trump assumes the presidency with a plan to project American “energy dominance” based on the country’s abundant fossil fuel output.
At 20mn tonnes a year when fully online, Venture Global’s new facility will produce an amount equal to more than a fifth of current US LNG output capacity — and almost four times as much as Germany imported in 2023.
One of the company’s tankers, the Venture Bayou, has docked at the new export terminal in preparation to start loading LNG for shipment.
Venture Global declined to comment on the plans.
The Plaquemines facility is a major milestone for a company that has grown rapidly over the decade, riding a wave of global demand for US gas. Its first export terminal, Calcasieu Pass, came online in March 2022 just as gas prices soared following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
A third project, CP2, is awaiting a Department of Energy export license, a process that has been held up by a permit freeze enacted by Joe Biden’s administration. Trump has vowed to end the moratorium.
Venture Global has aggressive plans to build additional facilities that would expand its total export capacity to 100mn tonnes a year — more than some other countries’ entire LNG output.
The Plaquemines opening comes as the company prepares to raise $3bn to $4bn in one of the largest flotations this year, said people familiar with the plans. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Bank of America are advising it.
A fundraising on that scale would be among the largest US energy listings, according to Bloomberg data. The last energy group to raise a similar sum was pipeline operator Plains GP’s $2.9bn deal in 2013.
JPMorgan analysts have estimated Venture Global’s enterprise value at $100bn, including a large amount of debt raised to build its terminals.
The company raised more than $20bn in financing to build Plaquemines. It is set to produce its first batch of LNG about 30 months after a final investment decision was made on the project — a rapid pace in an industry renowned for delays.
Michael Alfaro, chief investment officer of hedge fund Gallo Partners, said the IPO was well timed as energy security moves to the forefront of regulatory policy under the new Trump administration.
“What’s more impressive is the rate at which this private company has grown to compete with industry leaders, while targeting operations in areas with tremendous expansion opportunities,” he said.
The US last year became the world’s biggest LNG supplier and has a capacity of 11.4bn cubic feet a day. Five projects under construction — including Plaquemines — are set to bring this figure to 24.4bn cf/d by the end of 2028, according to the US Energy Information Administration.
But Venture Global also faces billions of dollars in arbitration claims amid a bitter dispute with foundation customers including BP and Shell.
The European supermajors accuse it of “misconduct” for withholding cargoes agreed under long-term supply contracts and instead selling LNG on the spot markets to take advantage of high prices.
Venture Global denies the claims and argues it has not started full commercial operations at Calcasieu Pass because of issues with its power supply equipment, allowing it to declare “force majeure”.
Additional reporting by Nicholas Megaw in New York
https://www.ft.com/content/d1372413-604d-46c0-83a2-0da651a6aafb
