U.S. LNG producer Venture Global will continue to expand production over the next two years, with monthly LNG cargo exports expected to exceed 90 shipments. Company CEO Mike Sabel told analysts during the first-quarter earnings call that the company’s LNG capacity is steadily advancing, aiming to double its current scale. “We are currently loading about 43 vessels per month. By early 2029, monthly loadings are expected to rise to the 90-ship range.”
Venture Global currently has a total of 52 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of LNG liquefaction capacity that is operational, under commissioning, under construction, or under signed and planned contracts. Through multi-phase expansion, capacity will increase to 85 MTPA; with the addition of new medium-scale liquefaction trains, total capacity could further reach 106 MTPA.
In terms of shipping capacity, Venture Global owns nine LNG carriers and has two vessels on time charter — the 155,000-cubic-meter “GasLog Savannah” (built 2010) and the 173,554-cubic-meter “Minerva Psara” (built 2021), with charters expiring in August 2026 and May 2027, respectively.
In the first quarter of 2026, the company’s export volumes hit a quarterly record, with a total of 130 cargoes shipped, more than double the 63 cargoes shipped in the same period last year. The Calcasieu Pass project contributed 38 cargoes, while the Plaquemines project contributed 92. Sabel stated that the company operates with a unified fleet serving all production facilities, achieving significant economies of scale. He noted that this centralized operational system is still in its early stages, with considerable room for future efficiency gains.
On the financial front, the company reported a net profit of $488 million for the first quarter of 2026, a 23% increase year-over-year, compared to $396 million in the same period last year. Quarterly revenue surged from $2.9 billion to $4.6 billion, an increase of nearly 60%. The rise in net profit was primarily driven by higher LNG sales volumes from the Plaquemines project, increased operating income, and gains from interest rate swaps; partially offset by lower LNG sales prices and higher interest expenses.
Sabel said: “The first quarter of 2026 was a dynamic and at times volatile period for the global LNG market.” He noted that the company is making “significant progress” on the construction of its third LNG facility, CP2, including installing the roof domes for the first two LNG storage tanks during the quarter and making a final investment decision of $8.6 billion for the project’s second phase. Sabel stated that Venture Global expects the first phase of its Plaquemines LNG project to achieve commercial operation in the fourth quarter of this year.
The company also announced two sales agreements today. One is a five-year contract with TotalEnergies starting in 2026, for the purchase of approximately 850,000 tonnes of LNG per year. The other is an upgrade to an existing five-year long-term agreement with Vitol, increasing the annual purchase volume from 1.5 million tonnes to 1.7 million tonnes.
Sabel stated that the company can offer customers short, medium, and long-term multi-cycle gas supply solutions, balancing market flexibility with supply stability. The company is currently optimistic about the pace of signing five-year long-term agreements, with initial supply from the Plaquemines project, followed by incremental supply from the CP2 project upon startup. The company raised its full-year 2026 combined adjusted EBITDA guidance to between $8.2 billion and $8.5 billion. The company expects to export between 147 and 154 cargoes from the Calcasieu Pass project and between 347 and 369 cargoes from the Plaquemines project in 2026.
