In September 2019, FERC issued its order granting authorizations for the construction and operation of the Plaquemines LNG terminal.
The Commission’s authorization is conditioned on Plaquemines LNG’s authorized facilities being fully constructed and made available for service within seven years of the date of the authorization order, or by September 30, 2026.
Since the issuance of the authorization order, Plaquemines LNG has “fully financed its project, significantly progressed its construction and commissioning at a cost of over $20 billion, and exported its first commissioning cargo of LNG in December 2024,” the firm said in a September 19 filing with FERC.
Plaquemines LNG, however, will not be able to place all of its authorized facilities in-service by the requisite date.
“Accordingly, for good cause as explained below, Plaquemines LNG requests an extension of time until December 31, 2027 to place all of its authorized facilities in-service,” it said.
Cosntruction neraly complete
Plaquemines LNG noted that the Commission has granted extensions of time to other LNG export projects on the basis that they have made and are continuing to make some progress toward completion of their projects, “although many of them had not yet even reached FID at the time the extension was granted and none of them was as advanced as Plaquemines LNG.”
Venture Global’s unit said it has “nearly completed the construction (although not the requisite completion and commissioning) of all of its authorized facilities.”
Thus, the demonstration of the progress of the Plaquemines LNG project is “much
stronger here than in other requests for an extension of time.”
“Extenuating circumstances”
Like other projects, Plaquemines LNG also experienced “extenuating circumstances” that have prevented it from placing all its facilities in-service by the original in-service date required in its authorization.
“In most, if not all, of the previously cited extensions granted in recent years for other LNG projects, the Commission relied at least in part on the adverse economic and logistical impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic,” the company said.
The pandemic also affected Plaquemines LNG, and the FID on its second phase was made more than three years after the authorization order.
Plaquemines LNG said that “severe weather also delayed some of the early construction progress on the project.”
In addition, Plaquemines LNG is a very large project and Venture Global’s “innovative configuration, with modular components and thousands of automated control systems, among other facilities, requires a longer commissioning and completion process.”
Plaquemines LNG currently expects to place all its authorized facilities in service by mid-2027.
“Given the uncertainties inherent in the remaining commissioning process, in which operational issues are identified and resolved to allow for long-term reliable operations, and the possibility of future unexpected delays (including weather-related delays), Plaquemines LNG requests that its authorization be amended to allow it until December 31, 2027 to place all of its authorized facilities in-service,” the company said.
27.2 mtpa
The full project, including the first and the second stage, features 36 modular units, configured in 18 blocks. Each train has a capacity of 0.626 mtpa.
Earlier this year, Venture Global also received approval from FERC to boost the capacity of its Plaquemines LNG terminal to 27.2 mtpa.
Venture Global recently received approval from the US FERC to introduce natural gas to the fifteenth liquefaction block at the Plaquemines LNG terminal as part of the plant’s commissioning process.
Venture Global is not commissioning these blocks in the numbered order, as it previously received approval from the regulator to introduce natural gas to the 18th and final liquefaction block at the Plaquemines LNG terminal.
It appears that Venture Global also needs approval to introduce natural gas to the 17th block.