The $20.4B Valuation Analysis of Plaquemines LNG & Its Early Phase 2 Production
Analyzing timeline, customer contracts, & DCF fundamentals behind Phase 2 launch
The news of Plaquemines LNG going Phase 2 caught my eye today, courtesy of EnergyNow and Reuters, as they were supposed to happen a little later this year.
The Plaquemines LNG facility is located 20 miles south of New Orleans in Port Sulphur, Louisiana, is a critical component of Venture Global strategy to enhance U.S. LNG exports as shown on Figure 1. The facility reached its first LNG production in December 2024 for Phase 1 which took 30 months from the Final Investment Decision (FID) made in May 2022.
Phase 2's FID was secured in March 2023, with an initial planned production start in 2026. However, the word is out that it started earlier than expected. To understand the importance of it, we need to go back to the beginning.
The Plaquemines LNG terminal is designed with 18 blocks in total:
Phase 1 comprises 12 blocks, contributing to an initial capacity of 13.33 mtpa.
Phase 2 adds 6 blocks, increasing the total capacity to 27.2 mtpa. Each block is equipped with two liquefaction trains, enhancing production efficiency.
This capacity expansion is part of a broader strategy, with Venture Global announcing in March 2025 an $18B expansion to eventually bring the site's capacity to 45 mtpa, reflecting ambitious growth plans.
We were supposed to talk about Phase 2 next year but regulatory actions support this current timeline:
On June 25, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted permission to introduce natural gas into the gas turbine generator for Phase 2.
On July 11, 2025, Venture Global requested permission to introduce hazardous fluids into Block 14 and other facilities, part of Phase 2, as per FERC filings.
On July 13, 2025, the facility pulled a record 2.9B cubic feet of gas, indicating active production, as reported by preliminary data from LSEG.
Who is benefiting from this?
The customer base for Phase 2 is robust, including major energy players:
ExxonMobil
Chevron
EnBW
New Fortress Energy
China Gas
Petronas
Excelerate Energy
Nice to read that, time to run valuations on them
Valuing Venture Global’s Plaquemines LNG Phase 1 and Phase 2 requires estimating their economic worth based on available data, industry metrics, and standard valuation approaches for LNG facilities. The Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) method is commonly used for LNG projects due to their long-term cash flow generation. First, let’s confirm key assumptions.