U.S. LNG producer Venture Global accused Shell of waging a “three-year campaign” to damage its business after Shell appealed an arbitration loss, according to a staff note seen by the Financial Times on Wednesday. Reuters could not immediately verify the report. Venture Global and Shell did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The email seen by the FT from co-founders Michael Sabel and Robert Pender criticized Shell’s “misguided decision” to challenge the ruling and said Venture Global would continue to defend itself.
The note also highlighted $28 billion in recent supply deals with customers in Japan, Greece and Spain, calling the company on track to become the world’s largest LNG producer.
Earlier this month, Shell filed a challenge in New York state court to overturn the arbitration ruling.
Separately, Shell was ordered to pay Venture’s legal fees following a recent loss in arbitration LNG supply claims.
Both cases centered on Venture Global’s failure to deliver LNG under long-term contracts while selling cargoes on the spot market as prices surged after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
In August, Venture Global won a case against Shell at the International Chamber of Commerce but lost a separate case against BP in October, which is seeking more than $1 billion in damages.
Venture Global has faced arbitration claims from Shell, BP and other European buyers alleging contract breaches after the company sold LNG on the spot market during the 2022 energy crisis.
(Reporting by Rajveer Singh Pardesi in Bengaluru; Editing by Janane Venkatraman)