Federal regulators have advanced the $28 billion CP2 LNG project in Cameron Parish, La., completing a court-ordered environmental review and authorizing construction of a key compressor station, as developer Venture Global begins work on one of the largest liquefied natural gas export terminals ever built on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s determination in early December approved construction of the Moss Lake compressor station, an essential component of the CP Express pipeline, after the agency found the company had met all pending pre-construction conditions.
The authorization caps a year of heightened environmental scrutiny triggered by a federal court ruling that reshaped the way the independent commission assesses cumulative air impacts for major LNG facilities.
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The court mandates a deeper review of air quality
CP2’s permitting trajectory changed after the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, DC, in its Healthy Gulf decision, struck down the commission’s cumulative air quality analysis in separate LNG litigation last year. Although that case did not involve CP2, the ruling prompted it to reopen and expand its environmental review for both the terminal and the 85-mile CP Express pipeline.
FERC issued a draft supplemental environmental impact statement in February and a final supplemental EIS in May. The updated analysis incorporates revised stack parameters, refined dispersion modeling, and updated background concentrations of nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and other operational emissions in the industrial corridor surrounding the Calcasieu Ship Channel.
The commission also reassessed environmental justice conditions along the CP Express route through Jasper and Newton counties in Texas.
In a formal comment letter this month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said the supplemental analysis addressed the court’s direction and provided “a more comprehensive cumulative impact assessment.”
With these findings in hand, FERC reaffirmed that with the required mitigation, emissions from the project would not produce significant effects, paving the way for final authorizations under the Natural Gas Act.
Opposition arose throughout the federal review. Environmental groups, industrial energy consumers and advocacy organizations filed protests with the US Department of Energy and comments on the FERC docket, citing cumulative emissions, impacts on environmental justice and broader market concerns.
Both agencies acknowledged these objections, with Energy concluding that the exports remain in the public interest and FERC stating that its improved model resolved the air quality issues highlighted by the court.
Mobilization is accelerated at the terminal site
With the supplemental review completed and the Moss Lake permit issued, Venture Global now has the necessary approvals to move forward with more extensive field activity. Previous notices to proceed allowed for limited preparatory work, but the company revealed in June that it had begun full mobilization at the 1,150-acre site following the completion of supplementary review.
The route map shows the CP Express pipeline connecting Texas supply points to Venture Global’s CP2 LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, La., including the Moss Lake licensed compressor station.
Image courtesy of Venture Global
Construction activity has accelerated. FERC’s biweekly construction compliance report for Nov. 8-21 shows contractors expanding clearing and grading, establishing additional settlement areas, improving site access and installing erosion control measures in active work zones.
Inspectors documented adequate storage of protected resources and reported no unresolved environmental noncompliance during the period.
Venture Global’s Q3 construction update adds more detail, reporting more than 3,500 workers on site as of Oct. 31 and noting that soil stabilization is 88 percent complete, LNG tank construction is 28 percent complete, and engineering is 99.5 percent complete.
The company also stated that permanent plant equipment is 98% procured and all CP Express pipeline materials have been delivered. Eight of the project’s 26 modular liquefaction trains are complete, and manufacturing continues off-site.
Venture Global declined ENR’s request for an interview for additional information.
The Moss Lake Compressor Station will connect several interstate transmission lines to the terminal. CP Express will supply feed gas in line with CP2’s planned production of 28 million tonnes per year via a 36-train modular liquefaction system.
Modular EPC strategy drives off-site progress
Venture Global’s “design one, build many” execution model, developed through its previous Calcasieu Pass and Plaquemines LNG projects, remains central to CP2’s delivery strategy. Major process modules and equipment packages are already located in the fabrication yards, enabling the parallel progress of off-site fabrication and on-site civil works.
Australia-based engineer and contractor Worley was given full notice to proceed this summer with a reimbursable EPC contract covering the initial phase of CP2. Two of its offices in the United States lead engineering and construction planning.
Worley had previously been running initial work with limited notice authorizations and recently reported increasing its presence in the field as development of the site increased.
“CP2 is a strategically important project for global energy supply and security,” Worley CEO Chris Ashton said in a July statement. He added that the project’s modular execution model places CP2 among the most advanced LNG developments being built in the US.
Venture Global said in its third-quarter corporate results update that it has invested $8.2 billion in CP2 to date, including $1.1 billion in Phase II activities as engineering and acquisition progressed.
Energy issued its final export authorization for CP2 on Oct. 21 to countries outside the Free Trade Agreement, approving shipments of about 1.446 billion cubic feet of domestically produced LNG per year through 2050. obligations under NEPA.
The order responds to widespread protests and comments from environmental organizations, industrial energy consumers and advocacy groups.
DOE concluded that expanded LNG exports continue to be in the public interest. The approval followed Venture Global’s July financial close for the initial phase of CP2, backed by about $15 billion in commitments.
Local and national implications are moving forward
Venture Global estimates CP2 will support more than 7,500 construction jobs at peak and employ around 400 permanent workers once operational. The company projects more than $4 billion in local property tax payments over the life of the facility, making it one of the largest sources of revenue projected for Cameron Parish.
For regulators, CP2 serves as an early indicator of how the federal permitting landscape is changing. FERC’s updated cumulative air impact methodology, developed in response to the appeals court ruling, is expected to influence future natural gas and LNG pipeline assessments.
Energy’s reliance on a categorical exclusion also underscores an evolving dynamic in export approvals when upstream environmental reviews have been completed by other agencies.
Venture Global stated that CP2 remains on track to deliver its first LNG in 2027. FERC compliance documents suggest that environmental monitoring, civil work and equipment mobilization will continue to accelerate in the coming months as the project moves toward foundation work and mechanical installation.
For the Gulf Coast, CP2 adds another megaproject to a region that remains central to US LNG expansion and ongoing national debates about air quality, energy policy and the role of major infrastructure in global energy markets and impacts on communities.
