By Curtis Williams and Dmitry Zhdannikov
HOUSTON (Reuters) -Venture Global has held talks with Ukraine to sell it additional cargoes of liquefied natural gas from its Plaquemines LNG plant in Louisiana as the winter approaches amid Russian attacks on its infrastructure, three people told Reuters.
The talks for LNG from Plaquemines are taking place with Ukraine’s DTEK, a major player in Ukraine’s energy sector, according to two of the people. Ukraine’s energy infrastructure has been degraded due to constant Russian attacks, and the country has had to boost gas imports as its own production falters.
Venture Global CEO Michael Sabel was part of a delegation of U.S. energy leaders who met in Washington, D.C., on Thursday with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy. The Ukrainian leader posted images of the meeting on X and said the country needed more power.
Venture Global declined to comment on the talks and DTEK did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
DTEK already has an agreement signed in 2024 to an undisclosed amount of LNG from the facility, in addition to two million metric tons per annum from CP2, Venture Global’s third export hub that is currently under construction.
Venture Global is the only U.S. LNG operator with significant spare capacity, as its 27.7 million metric tons per annum Plaquemines LNG plant is still in the commissioning phase that allows for spot market sales.
The practice has drawn increased attention after an arbitration tribunal found last week that Venture Global breached an agreement with BP to declare timely commercial operations at its separate Calcasieu Pass plant in Louisiana and prioritize spot sales instead.
Venture Global has said that the planned timeframe for full commercial operations at Plaquemines – which will result in the activation of longer-term contracts at cheaper prices – remains on track. Last month, the company exported 1.6 million tonnes of LNG from Plaquemines, or 17% of total U.S. LNG exports in September, according to preliminary data from financial firm LSEG.
(Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston and Dmitry Zhdannikov in London; editing by Nathan Crooks and Nick Zieminski)
