U.S. Department of Energy Approves Export License for CP2 LNG Expansion Project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On November 9, the U.S. Department of Energy issued a long-term liquefied natural gas export authorization to CP2 LNG, a subsidiary of U.S.-based Venture Global, approving the export of LNG equivalent to 62.05 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year—approximately 11.7 million tonnes per annum of export capacity—from its CP2 LNG expansion project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, to U.S. free trade agreement countries. The authorization is valid for 20 years, commencing on the date of the project's first commercial export, with an additional 3-year make-up export period.

This license covers only countries that have signed natural gas trade free trade agreements with the United States, currently including 18 countries such as Canada, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Mexico, and Chile, while also allowing future eligible countries under new free trade agreements to be included as export destinations. Applications for exports to non-FTA countries have not been approved under this authorization and will be processed by the Department of Energy through a separate administrative procedure. The two types of export authorizations applied for by Venture Global are non-additive and the same export capacity may not be double-counted.

The CP2 expansion project is located on the east bank of the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and is planned to add 6 mixed-refrigerant liquefaction trains, 3 natural gas pretreatment systems, 1 natural gas combined-cycle power plant, and 1 new loading berth. The supporting power plant is designed with a generating capacity of 720 megawatts, equipped with 5 gas turbines, 5 heat recovery steam generators, and 2 steam turbines. The new liquefaction facilities are designed with an annual production capacity of approximately 11.7 million tonnes; after pretreatment and liquefaction, natural gas is loaded and shipped via storage tanks and cryogenic transfer pipelines.

Construction permits and export licenses fall under separate approval procedures. Venture Global submitted its application to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on May 26, 2026, for the siting, construction, and operation of the expansion project; the Department of Energy export authorization obtained on November 9 does not replace FERC approval. Under the development plan, construction of the new facilities will commence after obtaining the relevant regulatory permits, with the project targeting first LNG production by the end of 2028.