The Venture Global Plaquemines LNG facility has gotten authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for an LNG export terminal along the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, its second LNG plant in Louisiana. FERC also approved the affiliated Gator Express natural gas pipeline system, which will deliver natural gas from existing interstate pipelines to the new LNG facility in Plaquemines Parish.
All told, Venture Global plans to invest $8.5 billion to develop the facility.
The project is on 630 acres on the Mississippi River, about 20 miles south of the Port of New Orleans.
When fully developed, Plaquemines LNG will have an export capacity of 20 million metric tons per year. The project development will take place in two phases. Phase one will consist of 10 million metric tons per year; phase two will involve an additional 10 million metric tons per year and will be constructed at a later date based on market demand. The Plaquemines LNG facility will be built to accommodate ocean-going vessels with an LNG carrying capacity of up to 185,000 cubic meters.
Key project features include a liquefaction plant consisting of 18 liquefaction blocks developed in the two phases, with each block having a nameplate capacity of 1.2 million metric tons per year and consisting of two SMR liquefaction units and ancillary support facilities. It will also contain four 200,000-cubic-meter LNG full containment storage tanks with cryogenic pipeline connections to the liquefaction plant and berthing docks.
Additionally, the facility will include up to three marine loading berths for ocean-going ships capable of receiving LNG carriers up to 185,000 cubic meters in capacity. It will also include a utility dock on the Mississippi River to handle waterborne deliveries of equipment and material during both construction and project operations.
Plaquemines LNG will use a combined-cycle gas-turbine power plant with a generating capacity of approximately 611 megawatts plus an additional 25 MW gas-fired turbine for phase one. The power plant will be expanded in phase two to include an additional 611 MW of generating capacity plus an additional 25 MW gas-fired turbine.
The facility will be built on the west bank of the river near Mile Marker 55, downriver of Myrtle Grove. The site includes 7,000 feet of river frontage and is owned by the Plaquemines Port Harbor and Terminal District.
FERC previously approved Venture Global’s $5 billion natural gas liquefaction and export facility at Calcasieu Pass in Cameron Parish, and construction has been underway since February 2019.
