Tanker docks at Louisiana Plaquemines LNG plant for cooldown, says LSEG, analysts
Corrects name of second LNG vessel in paragraphs 1 and 2 to Venture Gator from Kwangyang
Aug 23 (Reuters) -A tanker full of liquefied natural gas (LNG) has docked at Venture Global LNG's Plaquemines export plant in Louisiana, with another vessel, the Venture Gator, on its way to the facility, according to shipping data from LSEG on Friday.
The vessel docked at the port, the Qogir, came from Norway full of LNG, while the Venture Gator is arriving from South Korea at 78% of its capacity, according to LSEG data, in what energy analysts said was a sign the plant could start up in test-mode soon.
When the Plaquemines' export plant comes into full operations, Venture Global will become the second largest LNG exporter in the U.S. The plant will be the U.S. second largest export facility, with a capacity to produce 20 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of the superchilled gas.
LNG plants under construction, like Plaquemines, use superchilled fuel to test and cool equipment in preparation for startup.
After Plaquemines started pulling in small amounts of natural gas from U.S. pipelines in late June, analysts said the plant could start turning gas into small amounts of LNG in test mode in coming months.
Plaquemines took in small amounts of pipeline gas for several days in late June and then again in mid-July, and was on track to pull in the fuel for 25 days in a row on Friday, according to LSEG data.
As part of its testing process, Venture Global sought permission in early July from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to introduce gas to a gas turbine generator as part of its testing process. FERC regulates U.S. interstate gas pipelines and LNG terminals.
Officials at Venture Global were not immediately available for comment. The company has said building the two phases at Plaquemines would entail an investment of about $21 billion.
Analysts have said they expect Venture Global to complete work on the first 1.8-billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) phase of Plaquemines from 2024 to 2026 and the second 1.2-bcfd phase from 2025 to 2026.
The United States is already the world's biggest LNG exporter with seven export plants able to turn about 13.8 bcfd of gas into about 104.6 million tonnes a year (MTPA) of LNG. One billion cubic feet is enough gas to supply about five million U.S. homes for a day.
Analysts expect U.S. LNG export capacity will rise to around 17.0 bcfd of gas or 129.4 MTPA of LNG in mid-2025 as the first phase of Plaquemines and Cheniere Energy's LNG.N expansion at its Corpus Christi, Texas plant start to enter service in 2024.
Venture Global has said Plaquemines' customers include units of Exxon Mobil XOM.N, Chevron CVX.N, EnBW Energie Baden Wuerttemberg EBKG.DE, New Fortress Energy NFE.N, PETRONAS, China Gas Holdings 0384.HK, Excelerate Energy EE.N, Polish Oil and Gas, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec) 600028.SS, China National Offshore Oil Corp, Shell SHEL.L and Electricite de France.
Reporting by Scott DiSavino in New York and Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Susan Fenton, David Evans and Josie Kao
Related Assets
Latest News
Disclaimer: The XM Group entities provide execution-only service and access to our Online Trading Facility, permitting a person to view and/or use the content available on or via the website, is not intended to change or expand on this, nor does it change or expand on this. Such access and use are always subject to: (i) Terms and Conditions; (ii) Risk Warnings; and (iii) Full Disclaimer. Such content is therefore provided as no more than general information. Particularly, please be aware that the contents of our Online Trading Facility are neither a solicitation, nor an offer to enter any transactions on the financial markets. Trading on any financial market involves a significant level of risk to your capital.
All material published on our Online Trading Facility is intended for educational/informational purposes only, and does not contain – nor should it be considered as containing – financial, investment tax or trading advice and recommendations; or a record of our trading prices; or an offer of, or solicitation for, a transaction in any financial instruments; or unsolicited financial promotions to you.
Any third-party content, as well as content prepared by XM, such as: opinions, news, research, analyses, prices and other information or links to third-party sites contained on this website are provided on an “as-is” basis, as general market commentary, and do not constitute investment advice. To the extent that any content is construed as investment research, you must note and accept that the content was not intended to and has not been prepared in accordance with legal requirements designed to promote the independence of investment research and as such, it would be considered as marketing communication under the relevant laws and regulations. Please ensure that you have read and understood our Notification on Non-Independent Investment. Research and Risk Warning concerning the foregoing information, which can be accessed here.
