$3 billion loan in the bag for Venture Global’s $28B US LNG export project in Louisiana

Venture Global, an American producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) sourced from North American basins, has secured a $3 billion bank loan facility with 19 banks to continue manufacturing, procurement, and engineering of a natural gas liquefaction and export facility for its proposed multibillion-dollar export project in Louisiana, United States.  

Thanks to the commitments from 19 banks for a $3 billion bank loan facility, Venture Global’s subsidiary, Venture Global CP2 LNG, will continue the works, begun in early 2023, to bring to life its $28 billion CP2 LNG project, which will be located alongside the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, after launching the formal final investment decision (FID) process for CP2 in March 2025.

This comes after the U.S. conditionally granted Venture Global authorization to export LNG to non-free trade agreement (non-FTA) countries from the project.

Mike Sabel, Venture Global’s CEO, commented: “Venture Global is proud to close this major financing for CP2, which is slated to receive its first two liquefaction trains —number 55 and 56 deployed by Venture Global — in the coming months.

“This new capital, on top of the more than $4 billion we have already invested to date, will enable continued fabrication, manufacturing and procurement at an accelerated pace, similar to Plaquemines. This strategically important project for the United States will quickly bring new American LNG supply to the global market, equalizing the balance of trade with other nations and supporting global energy security.”

The latest loan, which will be used to pay project costs and fund reserves for debt service, fees, and other expenses associated with the facility, follows the recent $2.5 billion Plaquemines bond transaction, bringing total capital markets transactions to $5.5 billion in the last two weeks. According to the American player, CP2 is expected to have a peak production capacity of up to 28 million tons per annum (mtpa).

The borrowings are guaranteed by Venture Global CP Express and CP2 Procurement, each an affiliate of CP2. While SMBC, which served as left lead arranger and sole bookrunner, will act as administrative agent going forward, Caixabank and LBBW served as right lead arrangers.

Moreover, Bank of America, BBVA, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, ING, J.P. Morgan, Mizuho, MUFG, NBC, RBC, Santander, Scotiabank, and Wells Fargo served as coordinating lead arrangers, and Regions, ICBC, and NordLB served as joint lead arrangers. 

The CP2 LNG terminal will be located at an approximately 1,150-acre site in Cameron Parish, with the proposed CP Express pipeline set to originate in Jasper and Newton County, Texas, before it ends at the CP2 LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, where it will feed natural gas to the proposed LNG facility.

The associated marine facility will be situated on Monkey Island, between the Calcasieu Ship Channel and Calcasieu Pass. This project is Venture Global’s third LNG export project, with the Calcasieu Pass project coming online in March 2022 and the Plaquemines LNG project beginning exports in late 2024.