US leaves Repsol out of dispute with Venture Global

The US Department of Energy has rejected Repsol’s request to intervene in the Spanish oil company’s dispute with Venture Global LNG over the Calcasieu Pass liquefied natural gas (LNG) export plant in Louisiana.

Last April, Repsol had filed an untimely request on the decision of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to approve the operation of Venture Global LNG’s Calcasieu Pass plant.

In its decision of 14 November, to which EFE had access on Wednesday, the US Department of Energy rejected Repsol’s motion to intervene on the grounds that the Spanish company had not demonstrated the existence of good reasons to accept it.

The decision states that the Spanish oil company “recognises that its motion has far exceeded the time limit prescribed by the DoE for seeking intervention”.

Repsol is late to the litigation

“The onus was on Repsol to act affirmatively to protect its interests, and yet Repsol did not seek to intervene until after Calcasieu Pass had been exporting cargoes for more than a year,” the department added.

It also said FERC is solely responsible for determining the operational status of Calcasieu Pass and cannot question the commission’s decision.

The case dates back to August 2018 when Repsol agreed with Venture Global LNG to supply one million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year, and for a period of 20 years, from Calcasieu Pass, then under construction.

But although the plant has sold large quantities of LNG to other customers, it has not honoured the agreement signed in 2018 with Repsol.