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Venture Global has prevailed in an arbitration dispute with Spain’s Repsol, which accused the US liquefied natural gas exporter of breaching supply contracts to profit from higher prices at the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The case is one of several pursued by Venture Global’s customers alleging it failed to deliver shipments under long-term supply contracts and instead sold them for higher prices on the spot market when gas prices soared in early 2022.
“Multiple proceedings have now affirmed what we have stated from the outset: Venture Global has fully honoured the clear and mutually agreed-upon terms of our long-term contracts without exception,” a Venture Global spokesperson said on Wednesday. “We believe the remaining cases should reach the same conclusion.”
Repsol did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Venture Global had won another arbitration panel ruling against Shell but lost a similar case against BP. BP is seeking damages in excess of $1bn as well as interest, costs and attorneys’ fees.
The company settled a fourth arbitration case against Unipec. Several other rulings on cases involving Asian and European customers of Venture Global are pending in what has become one of the most extraordinary contractual disputes in the LNG industry.
Shell has challenged Venture Global’s arbitration win in New York Supreme Court, alleging the LNG exporter withheld information from Shell and the arbitration court.
Venture Global has denied this allegation and alleged Shell had waged a “three-year campaign” to damage its business.
Venture Global, which was founded by ex-banker Michael Sabel and lawyer Robert Pender, has shaken up the global LNG industry by expanding rapidly and developing new construction and financing strategies.
However, the company, which has close ties with the Trump administration and contributed $1mn to the president’s inaugural campaign, faces challenges following a lacklustre initial public offering last year and the arbitration cases.
Venture Global argued it was not obliged to ship cargoes to its long-term customers because its LNG facility in Louisiana, called Calcasieu Pass, had not started commercial operations when it sold cargoes on the spot market.
The company declared force majeure on its contractual commitments on the grounds that the facility’s power supply equipment needed repair, despite shipping its first cargo in March 2022.
