Jera Co. Inc. has signed on as an offtaker from Venture Global LNG Inc.’s CP2 export project under development in Cameron Parish, LA.
Jera, Japan’s largest power company, has agreed to buy 1 million metric tons/year (mmty) of liquefied natural gas from CP2. Jera would buy the super-chilled fuel for a term of 20-years on a free-on-board basis that would start when the facility enters operations. Other terms of the deal, like what price index the LNG sales would be tied to, were not disclosed.
CP2 LNG is Venture Global’s third export project. Construction is expected to start later this year and operations are slated to begin in 2026, according to the company’s website. Venture Global said Friday that it has announced sales and purchase agreements for more than one-third of the facility’s 20 mmty nameplate capacity after a flurry of contracting activity that hit high gear last year.
“LNG procurement competition has been intensifying, and thus stable procurement of LNG in a timely manner in line with the domestic electricity supply-demand situation is needed to secure a stable supply of energy in Japan,” said Jera’s Sunao Nakamura, senior managing executive officer of optimization.
Last year was the busiest on record for U.S. LNG contracting. Buyers scrambled to lock in stable, long-term supplies amid soaring natural gas prices during the energy crisis caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Nearly 30 mmty of U.S. LNG was contracted in 2022. U.S. LNG developers have signed contracts covering more than 6 mmty so far this year.
Jera is already a customer at Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas facility in Louisiana. The power company, among the world’s largest LNG importers, lifted the first commissioning cargo from Calcasieu Pass last year.
In all, Venture Global is operating, building or developing 60 mmty of natural gas liquefaction capacity in Louisiana. It sanctioned the first phase of its Plaquemines LNG project last year and took the second phase to a final investment decision in March.