FERC Approves Louisiana LNG Project Amid Environmentalist Outcry

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has granted authorizations for Venture Global’s CP2 LNG Project in Louisiana, the first LNG project to secure a construction authorization since the Biden Administration paused project permitting in January.  

FERC granted Venture Global authorization for the construction of CP2 LNG, the company's third export facility, and the related CP Express Pipeline Project. The 85-mile-long pipeline is planned to carry natural gas from Jasper County, Texas, to the CP2 LNG Project, with interconnections to existing natural gas transmission pipelines.   

Venture Global plans the CP2 LNG Project to have 20 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) of nameplate liquefaction capacity and associated facilities on the east side of the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

Venture Global has yet to secure approval from the U.S. Department of Energy to export LNG from the project to countries with which the United States doesn’t have free trade agreements.

“This project will be critical to global energy security and supporting the energy transition, as well as provide jobs and economic growth across Louisiana and the United States,” said Mike Sabel, CEO of Venture Global LNG.

“We look forward to a swift non-FTA approval from the U.S. Department of Energy for this project that is critical to both global and national security,” Sabel added.

At the end of January, the Biden Administration said it was pausing all pending decisions on U.S. LNG export projects until the Department of Energy can update the underlying analyses for authorizations. During the temporary pause, DOE will carry out a new updated review on the impact of such projects on health and communities. 

Environmentalists decried FERC’s “disastrous choice” to grant construction authorization to CP2 LNG.

“This approval entirely balks the Biden administration’s pause. Now more than ever, we need the president to finish the job and make bold changes. It’s time to stop this disastrous project from advancing any further,” Greenpeace USA Climate Campaigner Destiny Watford said.

“As one of the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects ever proposed, this climate Death Star represents an enormous environmental threat that is already harming community health, raising prices for families, and threatening our national security.”  

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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