ByCharles Kennedy– Apr 16, 2025, 9:15 AM CDT
U.S. LNG exporter Venture Global has started contractual deliveries from its first LNG export project, Calcasieu Pass, to its long-term customers amid an ongoing dispute with major oil and gas firms over the delays to the official commercial operations date at the export project.
Venture Global said that Calcasieu Pass has reached the commercial operations milestone in just 68 months from the final investment decision (FID) on the project, making it among the fastest greenfield LNG projects completed.
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According to Venture Global, the start of commercial operations at Calcasieu Pass and the multi-billion-dollar long-term contracts “will have a significant positive impact on the US balance of trade with several European allies.”
However, Shell, BP, and several other European energy majors have been in a dispute with Venture Global after the U.S. LNG exporter refused to start deliveries to them under long-term contracts in favor of selling its LNG on the spot market, making billions of dollar, according to the clients.
Venture Global used a legal loophole that allowed it to delay the official commissioning of its Calcasieu Pass LNG facility, which is when the long-term contracts would come into effect.
BP, Shell, Repsol, and Eni are suing Venture Global, with Shell last September accusing Venture Global of earning some $3.5 billion from selling LNG on the spot market while it should have supplied it under its long-term contracts. This, Shell alleged, caused serious LNG sourcing difficulties for one unnamed company that had to resort to sourcing the gas from five other U.S. producers, incurring additional costs of $1.5 billion.
BP, Shell, and Spain’s Repsol, along with two other European energy companies, were foundation buyers for the Calcasieu Pass facility, meaning they provided Venture Global with the money to build the place in Louisiana in exchange for a commitment from the company to supply them with certain volumes of LNG over a long-term period.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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