WASHINGTON, D.C. - In connection with the state visit of The President of Poland, Andrzej Duda to Washington D.C., the Polish Oil and Gas Company (PGNiG) has signed, in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building of the White House, an agreement with Venture Global LNG to purchase an additional 1.5 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas (LNG). United States Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry and Secretary of State for Strategic Energy Infrastructure of Poland, Piotr Naimski attended the signing ceremony.

Under this agreement, the volume of LNG from the Plaquemines terminal will increase from 1.0 to 2.5 million tonnes per year (from 1.35 to 3.38 bcm of natural gas after regasification). Deliveries will commence on the commercial operation date, currently expected in 2023. This new amendment raises PGNiG’s total commitment with Venture Global LNG projects to 3.5 MTPA (4.73 bcm), sourced from Calcasieu Pass (1 MTPA) and Plaquemines LNG (2.5 MTPA).

United States Secretary of Energy, Rick Perry said: "Poland and the United States have a strong and strategic alliance and friendship which is fortified by a shared commitment to energy security and an understanding that true energy security is achieved through energy diversity. Today’s announcement of the significant expansion of the existing LNG partnership between Venture Global and PGNiG further solidifies that goal. Under President Trump’s leadership, our two nations have launched the U.S.-Poland Strategic Energy Dialogue which fosters and supports partnerships just like this. We look forward to even more in the months and years to come.”

“We are increasing our LNG portfolio in terms of volumes, which we will receive from the USA after 2022, i.e. after the expiration of the Yamal contract. Thanks to good relations with our American partners and effective negotiations, we have achieved a highly competitive LNG supply from the Plaquemines terminal,” said Piotr Woźniak, President of the PGNiG Management Board.

“From 2022 and 2023, we will receive a total of 3.5 million tonnes of LNG per year from Venture Global LNG’s export facilities (both in the state of Louisiana), which equals approximately 4.73 bcm of natural gas per year following regasification. American LNG is becoming more competitive, which is confirmed by consecutive quarters of increased imports by Europe,” added Maciej Woźniak, Vice-President of PGNiG Management Board for Trade.

Mike Sabel and Bob Pender, co-CEOs of Venture Global LNG, jointly announced: “We are delighted to expand our existing strategic partnership with Poland and PGNiG, one of Europe’s most important international oil and gas companies. With Calcasieu Pass already under construction and progressing on schedule, this agreement further demonstrates our ability to offer low-cost LNG from our Plaquemines project to our international partners. Plaquemines LNG uses the same highly efficient and reliable process system as Calcasieu Pass, provided by Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE). Mike Sabel and Bob Pender further added: “we are also delighted that our project’s steam turbines and the generators for those turbines will be manufactured in Poland, a global center of manufacturing excellence”

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently issued (3rd May 2019) a Final Environmental Impact Statement for both the Plaquemines LNG facility and the associated Gator Express Pipeline.

Contracts with Venture Global LNG projects have been concluded for 20 years in the FOB (Free-on-Board) formula. This means that from the moment of loading in the liquefaction facility, the purchaser, in this case PGNiG, controls the LNG on board, including deciding on the cargo’s destination.