U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright gave Venture Global final approval on Tuesday to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its CP2 plant, under construction in Louisiana, to countries that do not have a free trade agreement with the U.S.
The approval will allow Venture Global to export 28 million metric tons per annum (mtpa) or 3.96 billion cubic feet per day of U.S. natural gas to so called non-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries.
“In less than ten months, President Trump’s administration is redefining what it means to unleash American energy by approving record new LNG exports,” said Kyle Haustveit, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy.
Venture Global is the second-largest U.S. exporter of LNG and when the CP2 plant is complete could leapfrog Cheniere Energy and become the largest U.S. exporter of the super-chilled gas.
“We look forward to continue advancing the project safely and quickly to bring new LNG to the global market at a record pace beginning in 2027,” Venture Global’s CEO Mike Sabel said in a statement to Reuters.
Companies need permission to export LNG to non-FTA countries. The majority of buyers in Europe and Asia do not have free trade agreements with the U.S.
In 2024, the U.S. under former President Joe Biden paused issuing of non-FTA export permits to LNG developers so it could study the environmental and economic impact of more U.S. export of LNG.
The Trump administration reversed that decision.
The authorization follows the Department of Energy’s conditional authorization to Venture Global in March and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s May approval to construct the plant.
(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by Christopher Cushing)