UPDATE 1-BP asks US regulators to reject Venture Global's permit extension request
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HOUSTON, Feb 27 (Reuters) - BP Plc on Tuesday urged U.S. regulators to refuse Venture Global LNG's request for an extension of time to build its Calcasieu Pass export plant.
BP says the plant is effectively commissioned and wants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to grant it access to Venture Global's confidential commissioning documents.
As of Oct. 26, 2023, all Venture Global Calcasieu Pass (VGCP) liquefaction blocks "completed commissioning and are fully operational, accordingly ... no extension is necessary," BP said in its letter to the FERC.
BP's pleading to FERC follows similar requests on Monday from Repsol SA and Galp Energia to require U.S. LNG exporter Venture Global to disclose commissioning reports submitted to the regulator for its Calcasieu Pass LNG project.
The Arlington, Virginia-based exporter was not immediately available for comment. On Monday it said it "opposes the requests of Repsol and Galp for confidential documents and ... will not provide any such documents unless and until explicitly ordered to do so by the Commission."
BP, Galp, Repsol, Shell PLC, Edison SpA and Poland's Orlen SA have all raised alarm that almost two years after Venture Global started selling LNG as pre-commissioning cargoes they are yet to receive their contracted cargoes of the superchilled gas.
The matter has also gone to arbitration with Venture Global insisting that it cannot move from commissioning to commercial operations unless it solves an ongoing power generation problem. (Reporting by Curtis Williams in Houston; Editing by David Gregorio)
