Venture Global moves forward with Calcasieu Pass LNG project

U.S. LNG export project developer Venture Global LNG says it is making headway with its Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas export project.

The company completed a string test of the first Venture Global Calcasieu Pass mixed refrigerant compression system at Baker Hughes’ testing facility in Massa, Italy.

“The string test proves the engineering, functionality and performance of the Calcasieu Pass process system a mere seven months after the project’s final investment decision”, Venture Global LNG said.

The 10 million tones per annum Calcasieu Pass LNG project employs a process solution from Baker Hughes that utilizes mid-scale, modular liquefaction trains.

These units are factory-fabricated in Italy and shipped complete to the Calcasieu Pass site, currently under construction in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.

Venture Global issued full notice to proceed to Baker Hughes in August 2019 concurrent with the project’s final decision.

As part of the ongoing execution of the project, the string test was performed on the first full set of equipment to prove that all system components function together under normal operating conditions.

The string test replicates and simulates site conditions, and every component that will be shipped to and operated at site is commissioned and validated in order to verify whole system functionality and performance.

The test performs a mechanical running assessment and measures equipment vibration and bearing temperatures at full speed and full load.

“The successful string test demonstrates the strength of the project’s design and that the equipment will function properly once installed, a major milestone andan important indicator of on-time delivery for the overall project”, Venture Global LNG said.

In a demonstration of maintaining project schedule, Baker Hughes and Venture Global used virtual technology to conduct the test in the face of the limiting conditions imposed by COVID-19.

Overall, the test involved 21 people in five cities around the world monitoring the test using digital and video remote access, as well as local field technicians for both Baker Hughes and Venture Global directly observing in Massa, Venture Global LNG said.