Venture Global and Malaysia’s Petronas LNG have signed a 20-year sales and purchase agreement (SPA), covering 1 million metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas from the US supplier’s LNG facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.

The deal further extends the reach of the Arlington, Virginia-based LNG developer into Asia, which is experiencing a rapid demand for cleaner energy as it transitions to net zero. With the agreement, Venture Global has now announced 20-year sales for 16 MTPA of the 20 MPTA nameplate capacity at Plaquemines LNG. The facility started construction in August 2021.

Venture Global is a low-cost provider of LNG sourced from resource-rich North American natural gas basins. Its first facility, Calcasieu Pass in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, commenced production in January 2022. 

Louisiana is positioning itself as an international hub to enhance global energy security, and Venture Global is constructing or developing an additional 60 MTPA of production capacity. Given the changed supply picture resulting from Western sanctions on Russia, the company says its projects in Louisiana have taken on a new importance for the global market.

Building on the successful record of 29 months from final investment decision (FID) to first LNG production at Calcasieu Pass, the company has moved forward with an expedited schedule for Plaquemines. It also has plans for the new CP2 LNG facility, adjacent to Calcasieu Pass.

“This contract represents a significant expansion of our existing customer base in Asia, and we particularly look forward to Petronas bringing our competitive, lower-carbon energy into Southeast Asia, a region with rapidly growing gas demand.” says Venture Global chief executive officer Mike Sabel.

“Petronas looks forward to the long-term LNG partnership with Venture Global, which will support the growth and accessibility of natural gas," comments Shamsairi Ibrahim, Petronas vice-president for LNG marketing and trading. Petronas LNG is a subsidiary of the Malaysian state-owned oil and gas company.

"With the growing demand for energy security, the addition of the new volume certainly enhances Petronas' global supply portfolio, and demonstrates our support of the energy transition towards a lower-carbon future," Ibrahim adds.

Also in May, Venture Global signed two long-term SPAs with ExxonMobil LNG Asia Pacific (EMLAP) for the sale of 2 MTPA of LNG, half from the Plaquemines facility and the rest from CP2. This is the second supply agreement for CP2, which is expected to start construction in 2023. In March, Venture Global executed two 20-year SPAs with Nasdaq-listed New Fortress Energy, including 1 MTPA from Plaquemines and 1 MTPA from  CP2.

In March Venture Global announced several milestones in its pre-FID activities for Plaquemines, which it expects to soon take formal FID and close project financing. It has already awarded engineering and procurement contracts to companies including KZJV, Baker Hughes, UOP Honeywell and CB&I.