Venture Global LNG cuts share price range, valuation target ahead of IPO

• All change: LNG’s place as Canada and US bid old administrations adieu
• Positive projections for US LNG exports to 2050
• First LNG produced at Cheniere Stage 3
• Venture Global challenges FERC’s environmental review mandate

14 January

As the US readies for a change in leadership, Virginia-based LNG export developer Venture Global LNG is reportedly eyeing what would be one of the largest energy listings in US history.

Venture Global is proposing a price of US$40-46 for its New York Stock Exchange float, according to a Reuters report. The price range puts the company’s gross value as high as US$110Bn. 

Republican US President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power on 20 January 2025 is signalling a distinctly different energy policy dynamic from his predecessor, Democrat Joe Biden.

In early 2024, President Biden enacted a moratorium on exports of and infrastructure development for liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the US, calling it "a temporary pause on pending decisions on exports of LNG to non-FTA countries". The Biden administration has also recently released a report on the economic and environmental impacts of LNG, urging caution. The study – outlining several potential scenarios for extraction, use and export of LNG – was aimed at the US Department of Energy, which is required by law to determine whether energy exports are in the US public’s best interests.

In December 2024, Venture Global LNG said it would contest a US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) withdrawal of authorisation for the company’s LNG export facility in Louisiana. The FERC argued a further environmental review would be necessary to authorise the facility, stemming from a mandate for reassessment that cited concerns over air quality impacts.

The move comes in the wake of a 6 August 2024 ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The court overturned FERC’s approval of NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project at the Port of Brownsville, Texas, requiring a revised environmental impact statement and a public comment period.

President-elect Trump, on the other hand, has long championed the expansion of LNG exports, viewing them as central to American energy dominance. Mr Trump has promised to immediately end the Biden moratorium on granting export permits when he takes office again on 20 January. 

In December 2024, Venture Global LNG announced the successful loading and departure of the first LNG cargo produced from the company’s Plaquemines LNG facility. The inaugural commissioning cargo was loaded onto Venture Global Bayou – one vessel in Venture Global’s fleet of nine new LNG carriers – and is being shipped to ENBW in Germany, marking over 60 LNG cargoes sent from Venture Global into Germany since 2022, according to the company.

The US has rapidly ascended to become one of the world’s leading exporters of LNG. Since the first US LNG export facility commenced operations in 2016, the nation has capitalised on its rich natural gas resources, positioning itself as a key player in global energy markets.

Over the past few years, US LNG exports have grown exponentially, reaching new heights that reflect the increasing global demand for cleaner energy sources.

In 2023, US LNG export capacity stood at an estimated 12.9Bn cubic feet per day (Bcfd), marking a substantial rise from the 1.0 Bcfd recorded in 2016.

These US developments have coincided with Europe seeking stable LNG supplies to diversify away from pipeline gas imports. And the beginning of 2025 has marked the arrival of the long-announced end of Russian gas transiting through pipelines that cross Ukraine.

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