Venture Global has asked federal regulators to authorize Phase 1 of its Plaquemines Parish liquefied natural gas terminal for service, moving Louisiana’s largest new export project toward long-term commercial deliveries. The company filed the request with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Oct. 1, saying commissioning had progressed far enough to place the entire first phase in service.
The FERC filing, accession number 20261001-5323, is a request, not an approval. Reuters reported that authorization would clear the final regulatory step before Phase 1 begins commercial operations and delivers cargoes to long-term customers, including Shell. Venture Global has said it plans to start that service on Oct. 31.
From commissioning sales to contracts
Plaquemines LNG has already been producing and exporting cargoes during commissioning. Commercial operation changes the business framework: contracted buyers begin receiving supply under long-term sales agreements rather than the company relying primarily on commissioning-period sales. That transition matters to customers that planned around fixed delivery schedules and to Louisiana, where the terminal has become a major part of the state’s Gulf Coast energy infrastructure.
Venture Global said in its second-quarter results that Phase 1 was in the final stages of construction, commissioning and assurance testing. At that time, the company targeted commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2026 and Phase 2 in mid-2027. The new filing narrows the immediate question to whether FERC agrees that all Phase 1 facilities are ready to enter service.
The scale is substantial. A March implementation filing in FERC’s public library describes the authorized terminal’s increased peak liquefaction rate as 27.2 million metric tonnes per year when fully developed. Reuters describes Plaquemines as the nation’s second-largest LNG facility. Phase 1, however, is only part of that full buildout, so an approval would not mean every remaining facility is complete.
A separate expansion remains under review
The current in-service request also should not be confused with Venture Global’s proposed brownfield expansion next door. FERC’s project page for that separate proceeding says the expansion would add 12 liquefaction blocks, a marine loading berth and power generation on roughly 250 acres, with another 350 acres used to support construction. The proposal would add about 18.6 million metric tonnes of annual capacity, but it has not been approved and remains subject to federal environmental review.
That distinction is important for state officials, parish residents and energy customers tracking the project. FERC can authorize completed Phase 1 facilities without deciding the separate expansion application. Likewise, the company’s Oct. 31 commercial target remains a corporate timetable until regulators issue the requested order and the remaining contractual conditions are met.
For Louisiana, the immediate development is therefore procedural but consequential. Approval would shift a massive Plaquemines Parish facility from commissioning toward regular contracted service, increasing the operational weight of the state’s LNG corridor. A delay or additional FERC conditions could push that transition past the company’s announced date. The next definitive milestone is the commission’s response to the Oct. 1 filing—not the filing itself.
