Venture Global LNG financing now exceeds initial cost estimate for first Louisiana export project
Houston — Venture Global LNG has secured additional financing commitments that when combined with previously announced capital will more than cover the building and commissioning of its Calcasieu Pass export terminal and TransCameron feedgas pipeline, the company said Thursday without disclosing terms.The commitments from more than a dozen Asian, European and North American lenders appear to give a significant boost to the developer which, despite its success signing offtake agreements with buyers of the LNG it plans to produce, has faced persistent questions about whether it would be able to pay for construction.Venture Global estimated in 2014 and 2015 that the 10 million mt/year terminal and affiliated pipeline would cost $4.5 billion. In a statement, the company said the bank commitments raise its total current capital to $8.6 billion, up $5.8 billion from what it had last month when it secured a previous batch of funding from institutional investors.The financing commitments will allow it to continue full construction and fabrication activity at Calcasieu Pass, Venture Global said. The developer has also proposed two other Louisiana LNG export terminals, the 20 million mt/year Plaquemines LNG and the up to 24 million mt/year Delta LNG. The overall amount of funding commitments, depending on the terms, should allow it to support some of the costs associated with those projects and related infrastructure.One key issue that was not addressed in Venture Global’s statement was some uncertainty about its agreement with its contractor, Kiewit, which is said to be responsible for designing, engineering, constructing, commissioning, testing and guaranteeing Calcasieu Pass. Some analysts have questioned whether the contractor agreement protects it against cost overruns.The company statement said that its lead financers have arranged for over $10 billion in total commitments, which exceeds the initial cost projections for the terminal and pipeline and the total amount of capital secured.Calcasieu Pass already has certificate approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and has secured long-term offtake contracts with Royal Dutch Shell, Italy’s Edison, Portugal’s Galp, Britain’s BP, Spain’s Repsol and Poland’s PGNiG.
Liberty Utilities to make case for liquefied natural gas tank in Epping
EPPING — Liberty Utilities will host a safety demonstration of liquefied natural gas Wednesday, July 31 with expert Erik Neandross at the Epping Middle School gymnasium.
The demonstration comes as Liberty Utilities continues to work to gain approval to construct an LNG storage facility in West Epping as part of its proposed Granite Bridge project.
“New Hampshire’s existing natural gas infrastructure has reached capacity and will hinder future economic growth unless it’s expanded. That’s why Liberty Utilities is proposing Granite Bridge,” said John Shore, senior manager of communications for Liberty Utilities. “Part of the project includes the sitting of an LNG storage facility in an abandoned quarry in Epping. We’re bringing experts to Epping so the public can learn about LNG and its inherent safety first hand.”
The demonstration with Neandross will take place at 6 p.m. Liberty Utilities will have LNG on hand to do some live demonstrations, like making LNG in a balloon, pouring LNG onto the floor and on water, and attempting to light LNG.
Neandross is a former professional firefighter with specialized training in LNG spill control and fire suppression. He has more than 25 years of experience with LNG and is an expert in the science and safety of the gas.
Prior to and after the LNG demonstration, members of the public are invited to speak one-on-one with Liberty Utilities project experts to ask questions about Granite Bridge.