(By Alton Wallace/The Center Square) – Venture Global said Monday it has asked federal regulators to approve an expansion of the Plaquemines LNG facility, now the second largest on the U.S. Gulf Coast, with future plans calling for a doubling of the plant’s annual capacity to 58 million metric tons.

The expansion of the Plaquemines facility, which is located on a 631-acre property along the Mississippi River about 25 miles south of New Orleans, would consist of 32 modular liquefaction trains built in three phases and add 30 million metric tons of annual liquified natural gas production capacity to the previously approved 28 million tons per year.

Both the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the Department of Energy must grant approvals and issue the necessary permits before Venture Global can begin construction. The company has not indicated when it expects to complete the project.

“This strategic step provides Venture Global with the optionality to develop a scalable project that can efficiently meet market needs as they evolve,” Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel said in a news release. “Our decision to significantly increase the project’s permitted capacity reflects the strong market demand we continue to see and this expansion will play a vital role in meeting that demand,” said Sabel.

Venture Global completed work on Phase 1 at the Plaquemines facility in December 2024. The company expects to place the second phase into service by mid-2027, taking total planned capacity to 27.2 million tons per year by the end of 2027.

In October, the Plaquemines plant was responsible for 22% of total U.S. liquefied natural gas exports, according to data provided by financial firm LSEG.

Combined with the company’s existing facility at Calcasieu Pass and the CP2 plant now under construction in Cameron Parish, the expansion could enable Venture Global to produce more than 100 million tons of LNG annually, making it a challenger to the world’s top two exporters, QatarEnergy and Cheniere Energy.

The Plaquemines liquefaction plant’s biggest customers include Poland’s PGNiG, German utility EnBW Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg AG, Shell, Chevron and China’s CNOOC Gas & Power Group Co., all of whom have signed 20-year contracts to receive at least 2 million metric tons of LNG annually.

Cheniere’s Sabine Pass facility in Cameron Parish is the world’s largest export terminal with capacity of 29.5 million tons per year.

Venture Global and Cheniere together accounted for 72% of total U.S. exports in October, LSEG data shows.

Arlington, Virginia-based Venture Global continues to face legal challenges from customers like Shell and BP for allegedly using the commissioning phase of its Calcasieu Pass plant to sell LNG on the spot market instead of providing it to contract holders at previously agreed prices.

The commissioning phase is the period after construction is completed but before a facility is declared commercially operational, which involves testing individual components and systems to ensure they work together safely and effectively.