Venture Global LNG to acquire its own fleet of 9 LNG vessels

US gas supplier Venture Global LNG will acquire a fleet of nine liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport vessels under construction in South Korea, moving to strengthen its sales by shipping its own cargoes.

The first of the nine vessels in Venture Global's future fleet will be delivered later this year, Mike Sabel, CEO of the Arlington, Virginia-based company, told reporters at Venture Global's Houston offices on Sunday, Reuters reported.

“This investment builds on our recent execution of a long-term terminal use agreement for regasification capacity at Europe’s largest LNG import terminal, further advancing the integration of our business across the entire LNG supply chain; from natural gas transmission, to liquefaction and export, to best-in-class LNG cargo ships and regasification capacity,” Sabel said.

Although Venture Global has exported more than 250 cargoes since it started liquefying gas for export in 2022 from it Calcasieu Pass facility in Louisiana, it always had to rely on vessels owned by other companies for the LNG transport.

The company has been unable to start full commercial operations at the plant and has attributed it to equipment malfunctions, and Sabel told media on Sunday that the company hopes to complete the commissioning of the plant by the end of the year.

Venture Global’s second Louisiana plant is due to start producing LNG later this year and should be able to provide 20 million tons per annum (mtpa), according to Reuters estimates.

However, the company’s existing customers such as bp, Shell, Edison, and Repsol have initiated arbitration proceedings against Venture Global LNG and have urged US regulators to review the plant's commissioning process.