Venture Global Retail Traders Unimpressed Following Plaquemines LNG Expansion Plans

Venture Global (VG) stock slipped over 1% on Tuesday after the company reportedly filed with the U.S. regulators to expand the capacity of its Plaquemines LNG export facility.

According to a Reuters report, the company requested permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to increase the capacity of the liquefied natural gas project to 24.8 million tons per annum (Mtpa), from the initially planned capacity of 18.6 Mtpa.

Venture Global has also sought permission to utilize an additional 586-acre area to the east of the previously submitted project footprint to expand the facility's size, the report said.

The expansion plan comes even as the company nears a financial decision on its CP2 plant, which is projected to add 28 Mtpa of LNG capacity for export.

If Venture Global secures approval for the Plaquemines expansion, Venture Global's export capacity could reach 92 mtpa by 2030, positioning it among the top three global LNG producers.

Retail sentiment toward the Venture Global stock on Stocktwits turned ‘neutral’ by early Wednesday (53/100) from ‘bullish’ a day ago, while retail chatter was ‘high.’

The U.S., the top LNG exporter in the world, is on course to further bolster its position as the leading source for the commodity, as countries around the globe have pledged to buy more U.S. energy products to reduce their trade surplus with the U.S.

Earlier this month, Venture Global inked a 20-year agreement with Malaysia’s Petronas to supply 1 Mtpa of LNG annually from its CP2 LNG facility.

Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank downgraded Venture Global to ‘Hold’ from ‘Buy’ on Monday due to a lack of movement in benchmark gas prices in Europe as well as the company’s continued spending on expansion projects.

Venture Global stock has declined 33.8% since its initial public offering this year.

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