Venture Global LNG Inc. has requested permission from FERC to bring three additional liquefaction blocks online at its Calcasieu Pass facility in Louisiana as part of the nearly two-year long commissioning process.
The Virginia-based liquefied natural gas exporter in a recent filing told Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff that it was ready to place blocks 7-9 into commercial service. The 10 million metric tons/year (mmty) Calcasieu Pass facility uses modular technology that groups 18 smaller liquefaction trains into nine blocks.
Venture requested a response from FERC by next Tuesday (Oct. 17). FERC first approved commissioning activities for the blocks in May and July.
While the company has continued commissioning activities for almost two years before placing the entire facility into commercial service, it has also been producing commissioning cargoes for sale on the spot market at higher margins instead of selling to its contract holders.
More than 7 million tons (Mt) of LNG have been shipped from Calcasieu Pass this year, mostly to European buyers, according to data from Kpler. It shipped 6.2 Mt in commissioning cargoes last year.
Feed gas nominations through the TransCameron pipeline to the facility reached 1.78 Bcf Wednesday, which is around 84% of capacity, according to NGI calculations.
In the meantime, public conflicts between Venture Global and contract holders have increased as they've questioned why the facility has not entered commercial service, at which point the company would be required to provide its long-term customers with cargoes. BP plc, Edison SpA, Galp Energia SA and Shell plc have each filed separate arbitration cases and requested additional oversight from FERC.
The company did not provide an update on repairs or a timeline for commercial service for contract holders in its FERC request.
Venture told FERC in March that the commissioning process had been delayed chiefly because of mechanical issues with its power island and heat steam recovery facilities that required further testing and work from the supplier, General Electric Co. In July, Louisiana environmental regulators issued a compliance order after finding that the exporter improperly vented gas instead of flaring during commissioning operations.
Venture submitted several supplemental information filings to FERC earlier this week, including a response to questions about the heat steam recovery generator system.
