BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 14. Baker Hughes
and Venture Global LNG are expanding their long-standing
partnership through new agreements to support gas transportation
and liquefaction infrastructure in Louisiana.
Baker Hughes said that under the agreements, it will supply gas
compression systems for Venture Global’s Cloud Connector Pipeline
project and provide a modular liquefaction solution, including cold
boxes, for the expansion of the Plaquemines LNG facility.
The Cloud Connector project will include 13 gas compression
systems driven by Frame 5/2E gas turbines, marking one of the
largest deployments of such equipment for LNG feed gas
transportation in the US. The systems will facilitate the reliable
and efficient delivery of feed gas to Venture Global’s Plaquemines
LNG facility.
The second award covers four liquefaction blocks comprising
eight liquefaction modules, which will support additional LNG
production capacity at Plaquemines. The blocks will include Chart
cold boxes.
“Baker Hughes has been a trusted partner across our LNG
developments, both at our LNG facilities and across our pipeline
infrastructure,” said Mike Sabel, CEO of Venture Global. “As we
advance the expansion of Plaquemines LNG, this collaboration not
only supports our expansion plans, but also helps ensure we deliver
the reliable feed gas transportation necessary to realize our
mission of supplying secure LNG to global markets.”
“U.S. natural gas is helping to deliver the energy continuity
required for industries, communities, and economies to thrive, grow
and innovate. Baker Hughes is proud to work alongside our partners
at Venture Global as they expand Plaquemines LNG, providing the
critical energy infrastructure needed to meet growing global
long-term global energy demand,” said Lorenzo Simonelli, chairman
and CEO of Baker Hughes.
Venture Global is developing the Plaquemines LNG liquefaction
and export facility in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, around 20
miles south of New Orleans. The facility is expected to have an
export capacity of more than 28 million metric tons per annum
(MTPA), with potential for further expansion.
According to Venture Global, the project uses mid-scale,
factory-built liquefaction technology consisting of two
electrically driven 0.626-MTPA trains in each block, with 18 blocks
planned for the full facility.
The gas will undergo pretreatment through six trains before
entering the liquefaction units. Each pretreatment train is
designed to handle approximately 25% of the project’s gas
pretreatment requirements.
The facility will have four full-containment LNG storage tanks,
each with a capacity of 200,000 cubic meters, enabling Venture
Global to optimize plant output.
The liquefaction solution for the Plaquemines expansion follows
a similar scope recently awarded for the CP2 project. Each block
will feature two electric-motor-driven, single mixed-refrigerant
liquefaction modules and associated compression trains using Baker
Hughes’ centrifugal compressor technology, along with cold boxes,
air coolers and integrated control systems.
The Cloud Connector award is the second order of Frame 5/2E gas
turbine-driven centrifugal compressor packages for Venture Global’s
feed gas pipeline. It will bring the total fleet serving the
Plaquemines LNG facility to 23 Frame 5/2E-driven gas compression
systems.
The latest awards further strengthen the companies’ strategic
partnership, supporting more than 100 MTPA of existing and planned
LNG production capacity across Venture Global’s portfolio.
A July 2026 study by S&P Global Energy said the US LNG
industry had become one of the world’s most significant economic
and geopolitical forces.
The study found that US LNG exports were on track to make the
industry the country’s second-largest net export sector, while
having a negligible impact on domestic household gas prices.
“The latest S&P Global Energy study makes clear just how
essential U.S. LNG exports are not only to our own economy, but to
geopolitical stability,” said Christopher Guith, senior vice
president of the U.S. Chamber’s Global Energy Institute.
“American LNG will supply 30% of the global LNG market by 2030
and is poised to become our second largest national export,
providing a critical alternative to Russian gas while maintaining
affordability for U.S. consumers. The industry also supports more
than half a million jobs and is projected to contribute $1.4
trillion dollars in economic output through 2040,” he added.
