DOE Grants Non-Free Trade Nation Export Approval to $15B CP2 LNG Project
American gas producer Venture Global’s $15 billion CP2 liquified natural gas terminal project along the Louisiana coast now has federal approval to export LNG to non-Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries around the globe.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright announced that CP2 received export authorization for up to 3.96 billion cubic feet of natural gas as LNG per day. LNG liquefaction and export terminals along the U.S. coasts take domestic natural gas and chill it into liquid to make it more stable for shipping.
The U.S. is the world’s leading exporter of LNG and has been for several years, thanks in large part to the shale drilling revolution. Once completed, Venture Global’s CP2 terminal initially could process 14 million tons of LNG per year and ultimately as much as 28 tons annually.
"Finalizing the non-FTA authorization for CP2 LNG will enable secure and reliable American energy access for our allies and trading partners, while also providing well-paid jobs and economic opportunities at home,” said Kyle Haustveit, Assistant Secretary of the Office of Fossil Energy, in a statement.
The U.S. has 14 FTAs with 20 nations which account for 40% of U.S. export goods, according to the International Trade Association. Those FTA nations have included Australia, Bahrain, Chile, Israel, Jordan, South Korea, Canada, Mexico, Morocco, Oman and Panama.
Work on the CP2 terminal will be in tandem with the associated CP Express Pipeline. Phase 1 already has long-term purchase agreements with customers in Europe, Asia and elsewhere.
The CP Express natural gas pipeline will start in Jasper County in east Texas and move eastward and southward through Newton County, Texas and Calcasieu Parish in Louisiana before ending at the coastal terminal.
The financing on CP2 is claimed to be the biggest yet in Venture Global’s LNG export buildout. The lender group for the construction financing includes Bank of America, Barclays, Bayern LB, BBVA, CIBC, Deutsche Bank, FirstBank, Flagstar, Goldman Sachs, Helaba, ICBC, ING, Intesa, J.P. Morgan, LBBW, Mizuho, MUFG, Natixis, NBC, Nord LB, Raymond James, RBC, Regions, Santander, Scotiabank, SMBC, Standard Chartered, Truist and Wells Fargo.
“Venture Global is grateful for the Trump Administration’s final approval of CP2, a critical project that will supply American allies with low-cost LNG for decades, support thousands of jobs and greatly benefit the U.S. balance of trade,” Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel commented. “The CP2 project construction is well underway and we look forward to continue advancing the project safely and quickly to bring new LNG to the global market at a record pace beginning in 2027.”
CP2, sited in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, spans nearly 1,150 acres close to Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass LNG facility.
CP2 is expected to bring its first LNG to market beginning in 2027. Once completed, it will be one of the largest LNG terminals in the world.
As of April 2025, according to the DOE, U.S. LNG terminals have exported LNG to 48 countries on five continents. The U.S. terminals currently export close to 16 billion cubic feet per day, with authorizations potentially pushing future capacity to more than 55 billion cubic feet per day.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration estimated that natural gas production throughout the nation averaged close to 107 billion cubic feet per day.
About the Author
Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor
Managing Editor
For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].
Rod Walton has spent 17 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.
Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World.
EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.
He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023
Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.