Incoming US producer Venture Global LNG has gone out to shipyards for up to six LNG carriers worth more than $1.3bn in what looks set to be a first batch of newbuildings for the company.
Shipbuilding sources said yards have submitted technical offers for three firm LNG carriers and a similar number of optional vessels.
Venture Global was requesting delivery dates from late 2024 for the ships. But South Korean yards have indicated that they are sold out for these slots with 2025 space in short supply.
The US liquefaction developer has indicated that it wants to shortlist yards in January with a view to making awards on newbuildings by the end of March.
Pricey
Shipyards are currently quoting prices in the region of $220m for standard specification LNG carrier newbuildings, with additional features pushing pricing closer to $225m.
Consultants watching the project said the vessels are required for Venture Global's Plaquemines LNG project in Louisiana, which is expected to reach financial closure before the end of this year, along with its other liquefaction developments.
The 20 million-tonnes-per-annum Plaquemines project, which is planned for a site about 20 miles (32 km) south of New Orleans on the Mississippi River, will be constructed in two 10-mtpa phases. Venture Global is selling some of the LNG from this project on a free-on-board basis.
The project will comprise up to 36 of Venture Global's trademark modular 0.63-mtpa liquefaction trains configured in 18 blocks. The company has made a feature of this mode of construction, which it insists allows a faster and cheaper means of start-up.
First up
The first test of this will be Venture Global's initial US development Calcasieu Pass LNG project, which is due to export its first cargo shortly. All of the project's 18 mini-trains — which have a combined capacity of 12 mtpa — are due to be online before the end of 2022.
Poland’s Polskie Gornictwo Naftowe i Gazownictwo (PGNiG) is a big buyer from Venture Global after signing up to purchase 1.5 mpta of LNG from Calcasieu Pass and 4 mpta from Plaquemines.
Spain's Repsol is also buying 1 mtpa from Calcasieu Pass.
Both have signed long-term charter deals against newbuilding contracts for these volumes.
Venture Global has also sold 4 mtpa to China Petroleum & Chemical Corp (Sinopec) from Plaquemines, with the Chinese buyer's subsidiary Unipec signing up to 3.5 mtpa from Calcasieu Pass.
More to come
In addition, Venture Global is developing two more projects that will give it a total of 70-mtpa of LNG in the US.
Delta LNG is another 20-mtpa facility in Louisiana, which will also be developed in two 10-mtpa phases.
In December, Venture Global announced it was planning to build, own and operate a fourth project — dubbed CP2 LNG — adjacent to its existing Calcasieu Pass terminal.
This will be located on a site in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, and will have a nameplate capacity of 20 mtpa with a peak output of 24 mtpa.
The company said it has submitted a formal application requesting authorisation from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to site, construct and operate the CP2 LNG facility and associated pipeline connection.
