2026-10-17
- Plaquemines LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) in Louisiana secured approval from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on October 16, 2026 to place Phase 1 in service, according to LNG Prime.
- Venture Global is reported to have requested the approval on October 2, so the review took roughly two weeks.
- According to a US Department of Energy (DOE) progress report dated October 1, 2026, Phase 1 is 13.33 MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum) of a 20 MTPA nameplate project, with Phase 1 commercial operations expected October 31, 2026 and Phase 2 in mid-2027.
- Binding long-term sale and purchase agreements are reported to cover the full 20 MTPA, and a December 2025 filing asks FERC to raise peak liquefaction from 27.2 MTPA to 35.0 MTPA.
The Plaquemines LNG export plant that Venture Global is developing in Louisiana received approval from FERC on October 16, 2026 to place Phase 1 in service, according to LNG Prime. The trade outlet reported the approval under the headline “Venture Global gets approval to place first Plaquemines LNG phase in service,” after having reported on October 2 that Venture Global was seeking that approval. The review is therefore reported to have taken about two weeks.
The approval comes roughly 22 months after the project shipped its first commissioning cargo in December 2024, and it closes a regulatory step for Phase 1. A DOE progress report dated October 1, 2026 gives October 31, 2026 as the expected start of Phase 1 commercial operations and mid-2027 for Phase 2.
Plaquemines LNG is an LNG export terminal in Louisiana that is developed and operated by Venture Global, according to the DOE report. The report states that construction of the export terminal began on August 18, 2021, that imported LNG was offloaded in September 2024 to cool down the cryogenic facilities, and that production began in December 2024, with the first commissioning cargo exported on December 26, 2024. Numerous commissioning cargoes have followed. LNG Prime reported on October 8, 2026 that Venture Global shipped 124 LNG cargoes from Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines combined in the third quarter of 2026.
The project is built in two phases. Phase 1 is 13.33 MTPA, and project financing of $13.2 billion in construction financing closed on May 25, 2022. A further $7.8 billion of financing for Phase 2 closed on March 13, 2023, and the DOE report states that the proceeds “fully fund the balance of construction and commissioning of the entire 20 MTPA nameplate capacity.” The report says the project has “nearly completed the construction,” although substantial completion and commissioning of all facilities are not yet complete.
On the regulatory side, FERC issued its order under Sections 3 and 7 of the Natural Gas Act on September 30, 2019, and issued an amendment order on February 19, 2025. In a letter order dated October 16, 2025, FERC extended the in-service deadline from September 30, 2026 to December 31, 2027. For exports, the DOE authorized exports to countries with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on July 21, 2016, and to non-FTA countries on October 16, 2019. It approved a non-FTA volume increase on March 13, 2026 (Order No. 4446-B) and an FTA increase on July 17, 2026 (Order No. 3866-C), which brought the FTA authorization to approximately 1,873 Bcf (billion cubic feet) per year. The report notes that the non-FTA portion of the 1,873 Bcf per year amendment has not yet been acted upon.
Numbers
- Total nameplate liquefaction capacity: 20 MTPA, of which Phase 1 is 13.33 MTPA and the remainder is Phase 2.
- Peak liquefaction increase requested: from 27.2 MTPA to 35.0 MTPA (FERC Docket CP26-53, filed December 19, 2025). The report says no new facilities are involved.
- Construction financing: $13.2 billion for Phase 1 (closed May 25, 2022) and $7.8 billion for Phase 2 (closed March 13, 2023), for a combined $21.0 billion.
- Offtake: binding long-term sale and purchase agreements (SPAs) cover the entire 20 MTPA nameplate capacity plus excess annual quantities, according to the DOE report.
- Gas supply: eight new long-term gas supply contracts have been added since the prior report, dated April 9, April 23, July 8, July 15 and September 21, 2026, with counterparties that include Citadel, Hartree, Citigroup, Vitol, Glencore and Castleton.
- Third-quarter 2026 shipments: 124 cargoes from Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines combined (LNG Prime, October 8).
- Commercial operations: Phase 1 expected October 31, 2026 and Phase 2 expected mid-2027.
- FERC in-service deadline: December 31, 2027.
Timeline
- 2016-07-21 — DOE approves FTA export authorization (Order No. 3866)
- 2019-09-30 — FERC issues Natural Gas Act Section 3 and 7 order
- 2019-10-16 — DOE approves non-FTA export authorization (Order No. 4446)
- 2021-08-18 — Construction of the export terminal begins
- 2022-05-25 — $13.2 billion Phase 1 construction financing closes
- 2023-03-13 — $7.8 billion additional financing closes
- 2024-09 — Imported LNG offloaded to cool down cryogenic facilities
- 2024-12-26 — First commissioning LNG cargo exported
- 2025-02-19 — FERC amendment order issued
- 2025-10-16 — FERC extends in-service deadline to December 31, 2027
- 2025-12-19 — Application filed to raise peak liquefaction from 27.2 to 35.0 MTPA (Docket CP26-53)
- 2026-03-13 — DOE approves non-FTA volume increase (Order No. 4446-B)
- 2026-07-17 — DOE approves FTA volume increase (Order No. 3866-C)
- 2026-10-02 — Venture Global requests FERC approval for Phase 1 (LNG Prime)
- 2026-10-16 — FERC approves placing Phase 1 in service (LNG Prime)
- 2026-10-31 — Phase 1 commercial operations expected (DOE report)
- Mid-2027 — Phase 2 commercial operations expected
Note
MTPA (Million Tonnes Per Annum) expresses production capacity in millions of tonnes per year. Nameplate capacity is the capacity indicated by the design, while peak liquefaction is the maximum level that can be reached temporarily depending on operating conditions.