Energy Construction
LNG Construction Is Welcomed in One State But Rebuffed in Another
Venture Global LNG Inc,, a developer of liquefied natural gas projects, plans to invest $10 billion to build a fourth LNG export terminal in Louisiana and an 85-mile pipeline, the Arlington, Va. company said Dec. 2.
The project, which the company formally submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for approval, is called CP2 and would have an estimated 20-million-ton-per-year liquefaction capacity. It would be built in Cameron Parish along the Gulf of Mexico coast, about 50 miles south of Lake Charles and adjacent to the 10-million-ton-per-year Calcasieu Pass export terminal, a $4.5-billion project now under construction by a unit of Kiewit Co. and expected to begin operation in late 2022, the company said.
When the Calcasieu Pass project and the Sabine Pass, Texas, export terminal are operating next year, the U.S. will become the world's leading natural gas exporter, ahead of Qatar and Australia, the US Energy Information Administration said in a Dec. 8 report.
Project Backed By Governor
The CP2 project would be built in two phases, with phase one construction to begin in the second quarter of 2023 and have a 10-million-ton annual capacity. It would take three years to build and provide 1,000 jobs upon completion in 2026. Phase two would be completed in 2027.
The pipeline system also will be built in two phases. Phase one includes the 85-mile, 48-in.-dia. pipeline from Jasper County, Texas; a 6-mile, 24-in.-dia. lateral pipeline and a compressor station, all to be completed in late 2024, the company said in its FERC filing. The second phase, set to finish one year later, would include additional compressor units.
Venture Global, which asked for FERC approval by March 31, 2023, said it uses modular mid-scale plant designs with proven technology and innovative configurations to lower costs.
Looking for quick answers on construction and engineering topics?
Try Ask ENR, our new smart AI search tool.
Ask ENR →
The project would create about 2,300 construction jobs at peak, said the company, in a joint statement with Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards.
Also under construction, as of August, is the firm's LNG export project located in Plaquemines Parish, La., also a 20-million-ton-per-year capacity facility. Venture Global LNG said contractor Zachry Group and engineer KBR Inc are in a joint venture to build the first phase of the Plaquemines project.
It will begin a phased operation startup in the second half of 2023, with full operation in late 2024. “These two projects, combined with our Plaquemines LNG facility now under construction, represent over $20 billion of investment in the State of Louisiana," said Venture Clobal CEO Mike Sabel.
The third project, CP2, would have the liquefaction capacity equal to that of the Plaquemines project and double the capacity of the Calcasieu Pass project, the company said. The CP2 project also would have four 200,000-cu-meter LNG storage tanks.
The natural gas delivered by the pipeline will enter six pretreatment systems that include an acid gas removal unit with an amine sweetening system to remove carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide and a system to remove heavy hydrocarbons, the company said in its application to FERC.
Capturing Carbon
The company also proposes to add facilities to capture and sequester about 500,000 tons of carbon dioxide a year. It would be captured from operations and compressed at the export terminal and injected into subsurface saline aquifers for permanent storage, the filing says.
The carbon capture and storage facilities are not within FERC’s jurisdiction, but regulatory approval will be pursued.
"As Louisiana pursues a goal of net-zero emissions by 2050, projects that feature carbon capture and sequestration allow our state to sustain industry without sacrificing our long-term carbon-reduction goals,” said Edwards.
The projects are set to serve overseas demand for LNG. Venture Global has signed long-term agreements to sell LNG to companies including China Petroleum and Chemical Corp (Sinopec), Royal Dutch Shell, BP, Edison SpA, Galp Energia SGPS SA, Repsol SA and Polish Oil and Gas Co., said Reuters.
A fourth project, called Delta LNG, is in early stage development.
Jordan Cove Terminated
The Louisiana expansion comes as Canadian energy firm Pembina Pipeline Corp. asked FERC on Dec. 1 to cancel its 2020 approval of the estimated $10-billion Jordan Cove LNG export terminal in Coos Bay, Ore., and a feeder gas pipeline from Canada, claiming the project, which would have shipped gas to Asia, would not likely gain needed state construction permits. The company already had placed the project, which faced strong landowner opposition, on indefinite hold in April.
A federal appeals court last month had ordered FERC to review its approval, and the agency asked Pembina to confirm its development intention.
FERC initially declined to approve Jordan Cove in 2016, but reversed itself in allowing the project to move forward under the Trump Administration.
