Venture Global has taken a final investment decision (FID) on Phase 2 of its CP2 LNG project in Louisiana and secured $8.6 billion in project financing, bringing total financing for the development to $20.7 billion.
The Arlington, Va.-based company said the Phase 2 financing represents the largest standalone project financing in the U.S. bank market. The transaction attracted more than $19 billion in commitments from international lenders, in addition to the $34 billion in commitments previously secured for Phase 1 of the project.
Once completed, CP2 LNG is expected to have peak production capacity of approximately 29 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Venture Global said the facility has already contracted nearly all of its nameplate capacity under long-term agreements with customers primarily in Europe and Asia.
The project is Venture Global’s third greenfield LNG development and is part of the company’s broader expansion of U.S. liquefied natural gas export capacity along the Gulf Coast.
“We are extremely proud to have taken FID on the second phase of CP2, our third greenfield project, bringing Venture Global’s executed capital markets transactions to more than $95 billion,” said Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel. “The tireless dedication of our team has enabled us to reach five final investment decisions in less than seven years, positioning us to become the largest U.S. exporter of LNG once CP2 is fully online.”
Across its three Louisiana LNG projects, Venture Global now has more than 49 MTPA of contracted capacity, representing nearly all of its total nameplate export capacity.
The lender group for the Phase 2 construction financing includes a consortium of global banks, including Bank of America, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, Mizuho, Natixis, Royal Bank of Canada, Standard Chartered and Wells Fargo, among others.
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and MUFG Bank served as lead arrangers for the project’s construction term loan and working capital facility.
