Gas

Venture Global LNG adds Zachry to EPC team for Gulf export terminal construction

Venture Global LNG adds Zachry to EPC team for Gulf export terminal construction
(Illustration courtesy Venture Global LNG)

Utility-scale building firm Zachry Group is joining into an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partnership to build a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project off the Louisiana Gulf Coast.

Development firm Venture Global LNG announced it was bringing Zachry into the Plaquemines LNG export project. Zachry will enter into a joint venture with KBR, already announced as an EPC contractor on Plaquemines.

The joint venture, KZJV, will execute the first phase of the project from development and engineering all the way to completion of construction. The Plaquemines facility, once fully developed, is expected to handle up to 10 million metric tons of LNG per year, with about 3.5 MMT already under contract.

“Venture Global is thrilled to have the expertise and exceptional record of both KBR and Zachry Group behind Plaquemines LNG, as we embark on construction of our second facility,” Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel said in a statement. “Combining the world-class experience of KBR in engineering, program management and integration with Zachry Group’s proven track record in project delivery and direct hire construction will enable Venture Global LNG to build on the historic success of Calcasieu Pass and continue our commitment to safe, on-time and on-budget execution.”

From Our LNG Coverage Archives

U.S. pushing domestic LNG toward global power generation mix

More LNG coverage by Power Engineering

Subscribe to PE’s free, weekly newsletter

Construction is scheduled to begin this year on the Plaquemines export project. Federal approvals already have been received.

Venture Global is also working on the Calcasieu Pass LNG project, expected to achieve full operations by mid-2022.

A forecast earlier this year by Royal Dutch Shell predicted that global LNG demand will double to 700 million metric tons by 2040. Global LNG demand sustained at close to 360 million metric tons annually in 2020, a slight increase over the previous year.

The company estimates that more than half of future LNG demand will come from nations with net-zero emissions targets. “The LNG industry will need to innovate at every stage of the value chain to lower emissions and play a key role in powering hard-to-abate sectors,” Royal Dutch Shell’s forecast reads.

LNG is becoming an attractive option for many markets which do not have direct access to natural gas but want to lower carbon emissions while supplying reliable power generation. U.S. LNG exports to Asia rose 67 percent last year to 1.6 billion cubic feet.