Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass has begun LNG production: US filing

Venture Global LNG's Calcasieu Pass has begun production, becoming the seventh major US LNG export terminal to start up, according to a Feb. 3 regulatory filing.

First LNG occurred Jan. 19, the filing, a weekly commissioning report to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said. Many of the details about the commissioning activities were contained in a separate document that was filed under seal.

The milestone comes at a time of high end-user prices and low shipping costs -- dynamics that have supported strong US FOB Gulf Coast cargo values.

A spokeswoman for the developer did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

Since Cheniere Energy became the first US LNG exporter to operate from the Lower 48 states when it began production in late 2015, the US has become a significant participant in the global marketplace. Forecasts suggest the US will become the world's biggest LNG exporter on an annualized basis this year.

Calcasieu Pass, which is using modular trains built in Italy, is expected to have a design capacity of 10 million mt/year, with the ability to stretch that to up to 12 million mt/year under peak conditions. Venture Global has long-term contracts to support Calcasieu Pass with Shell, Italy's Edison, Portugal's Galp, Britain's BP, Spain's Repsol, Poland's PGNiG and the trading arm of China's Sinopec.