Venture Global wins LNG arbitration against Shell

Venture Global LNG has announced it has prevailed in arbitration proceedings brought by Shell in relation to LNG cargoes from the Calcasieu Pass facility.

In a statement, Venture Global said an international tribunal had “issued a final and binding decision rejecting all claims brought by Shell” under the parties’ long-term LNG sale and purchase agreement.

According to the company, the tribunal “found that Venture Global did not breach the contract and that Shell’s claims for damages are denied in their entirety”.

Venture Global LNG chief executive Mike Sabel said the decision “fully vindicates Venture Global and confirms that we honored our contractual obligations to Shell”. He added the company would “continue to supply LNG customers worldwide from our Calcasieu Pass facility and future projects”.

The company’s 2024 annual report identifies the venue and institution for the proceedings, stating that Shell “submitted a request for arbitration to the International Chamber of Commerce, International Court of Arbitration”.

The same filing records, “The remedies sought by the long-term customer are damages of approximately US$1.0Bn” and the “liability portion of the merits hearing for this arbitration proceeding occurred in September 2024”.

It also states these disputes “are subject to the relevant seller aggregate liability cap of approximately US$1.6Bn under the relevant post-COD SPAs”.

Reuters reported that the dispute concerned whether Shell was entitled to receive LNG cargoes under the long-term contract during the commissioning phase of Calcasieu Pass.

The tribunal found in favour of Venture Global.

As previously reported, Shell, BP, Repsol, Galp and Edison have all sought arbitration over the supply of commissioning cargoes from Calcasieu Pass, with each alleging contractual breaches.

At the time, none of the parties had disclosed the full terms of their agreements or the detailed nature of the claims.

Shell has not issued a public statement in response to the latest arbitration ruling.