Venture Global LNG wants to extend the force majeure at its Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas plant in Louisiana to 2025, delaying first supplies under long-term contracts to three years after starting production, according to its initial public offering document.
The closely held Arlington, Virginia, company on Friday filed a registration statement to offer shares to the public for the first time. Lower gas prices cut operating profit for the first nine months of this year to $1.17 billion, from $4.1 billion for the same period of 2023, the filing said.
The plant's extended commissioning, due to power issues, has led to contract arbitration cases brought by BP (BP.L), Shell (SHEL.L), Edison (EDNn.MI), Repsol (REP.MC) Galp (GALP.LS) and Orlen (PKN.WA). The cases could cost Venture Global billions of dollars if it loses, an IPO document filed on Friday showed.
Under the extended force majeure, customers would not be able to terminate their sales and purchase agreements after June 2025, Venture Global told potential investors in its IPO filing. Force majeure is a contract clause that frees parties from obligation due to uncontrollable events.
The long-term customers disagree with the force majeure, first imposed in 2023, but have not moved to end their contracts, Venture Global said in its IPO document.
"We are working hard to complete the remaining work needed to reach this (commercial startup) milestone," a Venture Global spokesperson said in a statement. Customers have been aware of the commercial startup timing, the statement said.
BP declined to comment. Shell in the past has called Venture Global an unreliable partner.
Venture Global has moved from financial go-ahead to first LNG in 30 months, the company said, and in 2025 could become the second-largest U.S. LNG exporter. Its second export plant, Plaquemines LNG, recently began producing first LNG. A first shipment from that Louisiana plant could come within days.
The IPO document did not list the number of shares to be offered or a proposed price. The company said it expects to retain at least 50% ownership, the document said.
It said that three external customers that it did not identify accounted for 73% of the nine months' $3.45 billion in revenue this year. One of those three contributed about 31% of the revenue, the filing said.
