Venture Global LNG Inc.’s 20-milllion tonne/year (tpy) nameplate capacity CP2 LNG plant and 4-bcfd CP Express natural gas pipeline project has received its draft environmental impact statement (EIS) from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Commission staff concluded that construction and operation of the project would result in adverse environmental impacts, but that for most resources, these could be reduced to less than significant levels with the implementation of Venture Global’s proposed impact avoidance, minimization, and mitigation measures and additional measures recommended by FERC staff.
Commission staff also determined that construction and operation of the project would have significant adverse effects on the visual resources of the surrounding areas, including cumulative visual impacts, and visual impacts on environmental justice communities in the region. Climate change impacts were not characterized in the EIS as significant or insignificant.
CP2 LNG will be built in Cameron Parish, La., and the 91-mile CP Express in Cameron and Calcasieu Parishes, La., and Jasper and Newton Counties, Tex. Venture Global hopes to begin construction in 2023 to meet a second-quarter 2026 in-service date.
The company says CP2 LNG will be able to produce 28 million tpy under optimal conditions, with the gas delivered on CP Express. It has entered into 20-year LNG supply agreements with affiliates of New Fortress Energy Inc., ExxonMobil Corp., Chevron Corp., EnBW Energie Baden-Württemberg AG, and Inpex Energy Trading Singapore Pte. Ltd. (OGJ Online, Dec. 27, 2022).
FERC will take into consideration staff’s recommendations in the EIS when it makes a decision on the projects.