Venture Global CP2 export plant in Louisiana to move forward with environmental report
The proposed CP2 LNG export plant of Venture Global, a U.S. liquefied gas (LNG), company in Louisiana has moved a big step closer to being built after the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission released a draft report on Friday.
As global prices rose, the demand for LNG increased. This was due to the new projects developed by Venture Global, among others, and to supply disruptions as well as sanctions related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Venture Global shares, which had hit a low of $16.00 in the morning session, are now trading at around $16.78.
Since the release of FERC's news about CP2, the shares have pared their earlier losses.
Early in the week it was reported that
TotalEnergies
The French energy company rejected the opportunity to become a customer for a long time of Venture Global's U.S. Terminals, because it did not trust Venture Global due to the disputes Venture Global had with some of its clients.
In a Friday filing, FERC stated that its staff had prepared a draft of a supplement environmental impact statement in response to FERC’s order dated November 27, which addressed arguments raised regarding emissions from the facility.
The FERC staff, after a second look at the expected air emissions from the plant, concluded that the project's emission impacts "are not substantial" in the current draft EIS.
FERC stated that the draft supplemental EIS was not a document of decision. It presents the independent analysis by the Commission staff of environmental issues that the Commission can consider when assessing the merits of this proceeding.
FERC invited those who wish to comment on the draft EIS before March 31 to do so.
This report is just one of many steps in the long process that will lead to approval and construction of the LNG export facility.
Venture Global filed a FERC application in December 2021 to build and operate CP2 as well as the related CP Express pipeline.
FERC's staff released the final EIS on July 20, 2023, and FERC approved the project by order in June 2024. In July 2024 a coalition requested a rehearing of the project approval and a stay due to concerns about air emissions.
The Commission was granted a second hearing in November 2024 to examine the impact of the plant on air quality.
Venture Global currently has approximately 100 million tonnes of LNG export capacity (MTPA) in Louisiana. This includes the 10-MTPA Calcasieu project (operation), the 20-MTPA Plaquemines project (operation and development), and the 20-MTPA CP2 and 30-MTPA CP3 projects (development). (Reporting and editing by Chris Reese, Diane Craft and Richard Valdmanis)
(source: Reuters)
