By Curtis Williams
HOUSTON (Reuters) -A U.S. regulator on Monday ordered liquefied natural gas developer Venture Global LNG to provide customers with documents about the mechanical problems and startup of a Louisiana plant.
Venture Global LNG's Calcasieu Pass plant has been at the center of a long-running dispute involving energy companies including BP (LON:BP), Shell (LON:RDSa) and others over access to LNG from the plant.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said in its order that it would appoint an administrative judge to arrange details of the distribution of the commissioning documents. FERC wants Venture Global and customers to negotiate terms of the protective order.
The Arlington, Virginia-based firm's Calcasieu Pass plant has been producing and shipping LNG for more than two years, but has not provided contract customers with supplies, saying the plant is not yet fully operational.
BP and Shell in January asked FERC to force Venture Global LNG to release documents to determine why commercial operations were stalled, calling the delay "unprecedented and inexplicable."
The documents cover ongoing repairs to a heat recovery steam generator that had been filed under seal and 124 weekly commissioning and site inspection reports "that document the significant issues impacting this critical power plant equipment," Venture Global's spokesperson said.
The spokesperson said FERC's order showed "no interest in any outstanding commercial disputes between Venture Global and its customers."
A Shell spokesperson on Monday called the order "a victory for transparency." The order could lead to "information about why Venture Global continues to pursue a strategy to delay declaring the end of the commissioning process and avoid delivering cargoes to the very partners who enabled its project."
BP, Shell, Edison, Repsol (BME:REP), Galp Energia and others that signed long-term contracts to obtain LNG have said the lengthy commissioning has deprived them of billions of dollars in business.
Venture Global had objected to the energy company requests, saying it would not provide the documents unless ordered to do so.
FERC rejected the move, saying the firm “has failed to demonstrate why the 'highly confidential' documents requested by Customers cannot be adequately protected by a protective agreement governing the documents.”
Customers’ need for the information is not outweighed by Venture Global LNG’s need to protect it, especially under a protective agreement, FERC said. It ordered Venture Global to provide a copy of the requested documents to customers within five days of receiving an executed protective order.
FERC found customers’ stated interests do relate to the privileged information, which includes the reliability issues with the heat recovery steam generators that have necessitated the extension of time request and allegedly prevented Venture Global from providing service to its customers.