US liquefaction player Venture Global LNG is aiming for first gas within months at its Calcasieu Pass LNG export plant in Louisiana , the first of three similar plants that will between them have 50 million tonnes of liquefaction capacity per annum.

Calcasieu Pass is one of a handful of liquefaction plants that are moving to first gas at a time when many projects are being delayed in part due to the oil price collapse that has impacted some final investment decisions.

Addressing the 15th China LNG conference organised by Guangdong Oil & Gas Association last week in China, Zhang Yushan, a senior vice president at Venture Global, said the company "will start supplying gas from the Calcasieu project in the second half this year".

The $4.5 billion Calcasieu Pass LNG export plant has an annual liquefaction capacity of 10 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas.

Venture Global has signed binding 20-year offtake agreements for at least 8 million tpa of the project’s capacity, with BP and Shell each taking 2 million tpa, and PGNiG, EDF, Repsol and Galp each taking 1 million pta.

The two midscale, modular liquefaction trains and mixed refrigerant compressor skids were built at Baker Hughes’s manufacturing facility in Avenza, Italy, while McDermott International's CB&I built the storage tanks. US fabricator Kiewit is responsible for the on-site integration and commissioning.

The second plant and third plants — Plaquemines LNG and Delta LNG, respectively — will each have 20 million tonnes of liquefaction capacity.

In November last year, Venture Global awarded KBR the engineering, procurement and construction contract for its Plaquemines unit to integrate highly modularised and owner-furnished equipment.

Plaquemines will deploy Venture Global's liquefaction trains 19 through 36, identical to the 18 trains at Calcasieu Pass.

LNG

Venture Global closing in on first gas at US LNG facility