Federal regulators issued a key environmental study needed to secure permitting for the Venture Global’s $8.5 billion liquefied natural gas project in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a final environmental impact statement for Virginia-based Venture Global’s 20-million-metric ton per a year LNG facility and its associated Gator Express Pipeline.
The 767-page study is a key permitting milestone that includes in-depth analyses of the project’s impacts and will be used by federal agencies to decide whether to grant the Venture Global the necessary permits needed to construct one of three LNG projects it has proposed for the Gulf Coast.
The FEIS found the facility would trigger adverse environmental impacts. However, the agency said the company could take steps to compensate for environmental impacts that could make those impacts less than significant. The project would generate more than 8.2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions per a year, according to the FEIS.
The proposed LNG terminal would include four 200,000 cubic meter storage tanks, three LNG loading docks, six pre-treatment facilities and a liquefaction plant with eighteen refrigerant blocks. The project would also include two parallel 42-inch-diameter natural gas pipelines.
Venture Global has said the project would create 250 permanent jobs with $21 million annual payroll, according to the FEIS.
"We thank FERC for their timely issuance of the final EIS, which is an important regulatory milestone for our Plaquemines project. Plaquemines LNG has a binding 20-year offtake agreement with our partner PGNiG (a Polish state-owned oil and gas company) for 1 MTPA, and we are looking forward to announcing additional commercial milestones in the near-term," CEOs Bob Pender and Mike Sabel said in a joint statement.
The company plans to make a final investment decision on the project this year and start operations in 2023.
Image Courtesy of Venture Global.