Venture Global Plaquemines LNG Modular Reference Guide

DISCLAIMER: This is an industry reference article based on publicly available reporting. Hebei Haihao makes no claim of supply, EPC participation, or commercial relationship with any company or contractor named in this article. All information is sourced from public news, corporate releases, and industry publications.

1. Project Background

Venture Global Plaquemines LNG is a large-scale LNG export terminal on a 632-acre site along the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana. Its defining characteristic is a modular construction approach: rather than building a small number of very large liquefaction trains in place, Plaquemines is built from 18 blocks each containing two small modular liquefaction trains, fabricated in Italy and shipped to the United States. According to public reporting, modular units for the Plaquemines facility are produced by Baker Hughes at its manufacturing facility in Italy.

Final investment decision on Phase 1 was reached in May 2022 and on Phase 2 in March 2023. According to Venture Global's own announcements, first LNG production was achieved at Plaquemines LNG in December 2024. Production from Phase 2 of the Plaquemines plant was reported to have begun in 2025 per public reporting.

For international procurement engineers, the Venture Global Plaquemines LNG modular construction model is a reference point for how modular LNG mega-projects schedule and bundle their fittings, flanges and bend orders.

2. Scale by the Numbers

3. Contractor Map

Venture Global is the project owner and is unusual among US LNG developers in that it self-performs significant elements of construction execution rather than contracting under a single mega-EPC. Modular liquefaction trains are supplied by Baker Hughes from Italy, with the units shipped to the Louisiana site for installation on prepared foundations. Venture Global has separately filed FERC applications to roughly double the planned capacity through additional phases.

4. Typical Materials & Standards Profile

A modular LNG site of the Plaquemines class typically generates a piping material demand profile that includes:

• Cryogenic stainless and 9Ni material (A312 TP304L/TP316L, A333 Gr 8 pipe, A420 WPL8 fittings) for in-train cold service.
• ASME B16.5 / B16.47 forged flanges in matching cryogenic and low-temperature materials, plus ASME B16.9 butt-welding fittings.
• Carbon steel and low-alloy fittings and flanges for the surrounding utility, feed gas and BOG (boil-off gas) circuits.
• ASME B16.49 induction bends in the feed gas pipeline tie-in and within the modular skids.

For benchmarking, reference product families are described under seamless butt-welding pipe fittings, forged flanges and non-standard forgings and hot induction pipe bends.

5. Procurement Lessons for International Buyers

First, modular LNG construction shifts the supplier interface upstream. Instead of a single EPC contractor placing site orders, a modular OEM (Baker Hughes for Plaquemines) places the bulk of the train-internal piping orders inside its module fabrication shop. Tier-2 suppliers of fittings, flanges and bends therefore have to qualify with the OEM, not with the project owner.

Second, modular execution compresses lead time. With 36 trains in 18 blocks, a small number of qualified suppliers can win very large repeat orders, but only if they hold inventory and can absorb fabrication-shop schedule changes.

Third, the balance-of-plant (utilities, BOG, feed gas, vapor return) is procured by the owner and is typically where international suppliers find easier entry points.

Procurement teams scoping similar modular LNG packages can engage via the inquiry portal.

6. Reference Takeaway

The Venture Global Plaquemines LNG project is the largest current example of modular LNG mega-construction in the United States. With 36 modular trains, two FIDs already executed, first LNG achieved in late 2024, and a proposed expansion to roughly double capacity, the Plaquemines LNG modular template is a reference case any international procurement engineer should benchmark when planning their next modular LNG sourcing wave.

Sources

• https://ventureglobal.com/2024/12/14/venture-globals-plaquemines-lng-achieves-historic-first-lng-production/
• https://www.gem.wiki/Plaquemines_LNG_Terminal
• https://investors.ventureglobal.com/news/news-details/2025/Venture-Global-Files-FERC-Application-for-Plaquemines-Expansion-Project/default.aspx
• https://boereport.com/2025/07/14/venture-global-begins-producing-lng-from-phase-2-of-plaquemines-plant-sources-say/
• https://www.argusmedia.com/en/news-and-insights/latest-market-news/2755512-vg-files-expansion-plan-to-double-plaquemines-lng

Hebei Haihao does not claim involvement in this project.