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(Reuters) – Venture Global said on Monday it had asked the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for permission to more than double the capacity of its Plaquemines liquefied natural gas export facility under development in Louisiana.
The company wants to add 30 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of additional LNG capacity to the previously approved 28 mtpa. Plaquemines is already the second-largest LNG facility in the U.S. and last month was responsible for 22% of total exports from the country, according to data from financial firm LSEG.
“Our decision to significantly increase the project’s permitted capacity reflects the strong market demand we continue to see and this expansion will play a vital role in meeting that demand,” Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel said in a statement.
The proposed expansion would allow the company to produce over 100 million mtpa of the liquid fuel and challenge QatarEnergy and Cheniere as the world’s top exporter of LNG.
A mere startup three years ago, Venture Global quickly became the second-largest U.S. LNG exporter with a business model that lets it export cargoes while construction and commissioning phases are still underway.
The strategy has allowed the company to profit from higher spot market prices before it begins supplying longer-term customers, but the practice has also resulted in arbitration cases and lawsuits from customers that include several of the world’s largest energy companies.
The Plaquemines expansion will be built incrementally in three phases and consist of 32 modular liquefaction trains, the company said.
Venture Global has also filed an application with the U.S. Department of Energy for the export authorizations associated with the additional planned capacity, the company said.
Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Nathan Crooks and Jamie Freed
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