Shell was the first customer to receive LNG under a long term sales contract from Venture Global’s Plaquemines export plant in Louisiana, after the plant completed Phase 1 commissioning and moved to commercial operations, the company said on Sunday, Reuters reported.
Plaquemines finished Phase 1 commissioning on Saturday, 22 months after the facility produced its first liquefied natural gas, Venture Global said in a statement. The Malaga Knutsen LNG tanker loaded the first commercial cargo for Shell and departed at 3:26 a.m. (0926 GMT) on Sunday.
Phase 1 customers including Shell, Orlen, Sinopec, CNOOC Gas and Power and EDF are expected to receive LNG under long term contracts. Reuters noted that pricing under those contracts will be significantly discounted from near 46 month highs of around 34 dollars per million BTU at the Dutch TTF benchmark in Europe and 32 dollars at the Japan Korea Marker in Asia.
The start of contracted deliveries ends a long and lucrative commissioning period. Venture Global previously sold Plaquemines cargoes on the spot market while prices spiked during the Middle East conflict. The company, a startup five years ago, is now the second largest LNG producer in the United States, Reuters said.