Venture Global surpassed Wall Street expectations for second-quarter revenue on Tuesday, as the easing of new export permits for liquefied natural gas in the U.S. helped improve sales.
Commercial activity in the sector picked up pace after President Donald Trump lifted a moratorium on new LNG export permits soon after taking office in January.
Venture Global, the country’s second-largest LNG exporter behind Cheniere Energy, has been ramping up commercial operations at its Plaquemines and Calcasieu Pass export facilities, both located in Louisiana.
The company said it sold 329 trillion British Thermal Units (TBtu) of LNG during the quarter, a 149% jump from the 132 TBt units of the superchilled fuel it sold a year earlier.
It expects to export 227 to 240 cargos of LNG from the Plaquemines project this year, compared with a prior forecast of 222 to 239 cargoes. The Calcasieu Pass project is expected to export 144 to 149 cargos, compared with its previous forecast of 145 to 150 cargoes.
Venture Global became one of the most valuable U.S. LNG companies when it listed in January, though its stock has fallen more than 27% as the company grapples with higher project costs.
Its operating expenses rose to $2.06 billion during the second quarter from $745 million a year earlier.
The Arlington, Virginia-based company reported revenue of $3.1 billion for the three months ended June 30, compared with analysts’ expectations of $2.89 billion, according to data compiled by LSEG.
(Reporting by Vallari Srivastava in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D’Silva)