(Reuters) - The German state-owned Securing Energy for Europe GmbH (SEFE) has become the third company to seek approval from the U.S. energy regulator for liquefied natural gas (LNG) developer Venture Global to begin construction on its CP2 LNG project in Louisiana.
SEFE's letter to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), dated Monday, highlighted the role of the CP2 LNG project in securing Europe's energy supply.
In June, SEFE, via its unit Wingas, signed a 20-year deal to buy 2.25 million tons per annum (MTPA) of LNG from Venture Global's proposed 20 MTPA CP2 project in Louisiana.
The appeal to FERC follows a similar request from two Japanese energy companies, Inpex Corp and JERA, seeking approval for construction by Venture Global for the project.
"SEFE's long-term LNG purchased from CP2 LNG will now be vital to Germany's energy security in the new environment where gas pipeline supplies from Russia have stopped," the company said in the letter.
The letter reiterated that Venture Global has already enabled the reliable supply of three LNG cargoes to SEFE so far in 2023, which arrived during a "critical period of Germany's gas crisis".
Aside from the FERC approval, the CP2 LNG project is also awaiting export authorization from the Department of Energy before construction can commence.
Venture Global LNG, which started early site work on CP2 in the spring of 2023, has contracts for nearly half the plant's capacity of 20 MTPA and expects the rest to be sold before the end of 2023.
The company is embroiled in contract arbitration cases with several customers over its insistence it does not have to provide contracted cargoes while its Calcasieu Pass export plant, also in Louisiana, is undergoing commissioning.