Venture Global to tackle CO2 from US LNG plants

US LNG developer Venture Global has announced plans to sequester CO₂ at its planned Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines LNG facilities in Louisiana, after completing engineering and geotechnical studies on the idea.

If regulatory approvals are secured, the company will embark on a "shovel-ready" carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) project, compressing the CO₂ and injecting it into deep subsurface saline aquifers for permanent storage. It aims to sequester 500,000 metric tons/year of CO₂ from the Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines terminals, and a further 500,000 mt/yr from a potential second liquefaction facility at Calcasieu Pass.

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"Through this historic carbon capture and sequestration project, we will build upon our existing state-of-the-art technology to develop even cleaner LNG at our facilities to displace coal around the world," Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel said. "Our location in Louisiana uniquely positions us to pioneer the deployment of this technology due to geology that can support industrial scale injection and storage of CO₂."

US LNG exporters are striving to make their operations as clean as possible, amid pressure from investors and customers. NextDecade last year announced it would strive to make its Rio Grande terminal in Texas "the greenest LNG project in the world," operating at net-zero emissions thanks to the use of CCS.

Venture Global took a final investment decision on the 10mn mt/yr Calcasieu Pass facility in 2019 and it is on track to start up in 2022 or possibly earlier. The 20mn mt/yr Plaquemines plant is yet to be formally sanctioned, although Venture Global said in March that it was "nearing initial construction activity." The company has so far secured offtake deals covering 3.5mn mt/yr of its supply.