Venture Global Inc. VG announced that it has begun commercial operations at the Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility on April 15, 2025. The company has also started supplying U.S. LNG to the project’s long-term customers. The Calcasieu Pass LNG export facility consists of mid-scale, modular liquefaction trains and supporting infrastructure that enable the plant to process natural gas for transportation.
The plant began exporting LNG cargoes in March 2022, and by September it was operating at full capacity. However, Venture Global mentioned that the plant faced technical issues, due to which many long-term customers did not receive their contracted LNG cargoes. These customers include energy giants like Shell, BP, Repsol and Edison who then began arbitration proceedings against VG, with the collective claims adding up to approximately $5.4 billion. The customers alleged that Venture Global intentionally delayed its contractual obligations and instead sold LNG at spot rates to capitalize on the higher prices.
VG mentioned that the Calcasieu Pass LNG project has suffered major setbacks, including a global pandemic that is likely to have caused supply-chain issues and delayed the timeline of the project, along with two hurricanes. The plant was also affected by a force majeure event associated with a manufacturing issue in the plant’s power island.
The company noted that the plant overcame the challenges and underwent several years of adjustments and rectification processes to its key infrastructural components. These adjustments were primarily aimed at ensuring that the in-built redundancy features of the LNG project work correctly. The Calcasieu Pass LNG plant is currently operating smoothly and reliably, according to the company’s statement.
During its fourth-quarter earnings release, VG stated that the ongoing customer arbitrations were continuing, and these proceedings are not likely to be resolved until after 2025. The Calcasieu Pass LNG facility began commercial operations after more than five years of proceeding with the final investment decision. For long-term LNG sales and purchase agreements, the plant’s average liquefaction fees are very minimal, lower than $2 per million British thermal units (MMBtu).
VG currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the energy sector are Archrock Inc.AROC, Nine Energy Service NINE and Kinder Morgan, Inc.KMI. While Archrock currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), Nine Energy Service and Kinder Morgan carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) each. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
Archrock is an energy infrastructure company based in the United States with a focus on midstream natural gas compression. It provides natural gas contract compression services and generates stable fee-based revenues. With natural gas playing an increasingly important role in the energy transition journey, AROC is expected to witness sustained demand for its services.
Nine Energy Service provides onshore completion and production services for unconventional oil and gas resource development. It operates across key prolific basins in the United States, including the Permian, Eagle Ford, MidCon, Barnett, Bakken, Rockies, Marcellus and Utica, as well as throughout Canada. With a sustained demand for oil and gas in the future, the need for NINE’s services is anticipated to increase, which should position the company for growth in the long run.
Kinder Morgan is a leading North American midstream player with a stable and resilient business model, largely driven by take-or-pay contracts. KMI’s stable business model shields it from commodity price volatility, resulting in predictable earnings and facilitating reliable capital returns to its shareholders.
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