Energy major Shell was the first customer to receive LNG under a long-term sales contract from Venture Global's Plaquemines export plant in Louisiana, after it completed phase one commissioning and moved to commercial operations, the LNG exporter said on Sunday.
Plaquemines finished phase one 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 from Plaquemines and departed at 03:26 (09:26 GMT) on Sunday.
“Achieving commercial operations at the first phase of our second LNG project in 53 months is a testament to our team's relentless dedication and hard work,” said Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel.
Phase one customers including Shell, Orlen, Sinopec, CNOOC Gas Power and EDF are expected to receive LNG under long-term contracts. Pricing of those contracts will be significantly discounted from near 46-month highs of around $34 per mmBtu at the Dutch Title Transfer Facility benchmark in Europe and $32 at the Japan-Korea Marker benchmark in Asia.
Venture Global has benefited from extensive commissioning periods at its plants. It has previously been able to sell Plaquemines cargoes on the spot market, which has seen prices spike due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Just a startup five years ago, Venture Global is now the country's second-largest LNG producer, helping the US lead the world in LNG exports.
(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Nathan Crooks and Joe Bavier)