Plaquemines LNG in Louisiana, the eighth liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal to begin operations in the U.S., shipped its first cargo on Dec. 26, according to a company announcement.

The facility near the mouth of the Mississippi River south of New Orleans began liquifying natural gas for export in mid-December, parent company Venture Global announced last month. The company plans to bring the facility online in two phases, with the terminal able to liquify 3.2 billion cubic feet of gas per day at peak capacity when both are complete.

A December report from the U.S. Department of Energy warned that the unrestricted growth of LNG exports in the U.S. would raise household energy bills and release 1.5 gigatons of climate-warming greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Plaquemines LNG joins seven other currently operating LNG export facilities in the U.S. – two in Louisiana, three in Texas, one in Maryland, and one in Georgia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Another three LNG export terminals and two expansions in Louisiana and Texas are under construction.  

Plaquemines LNG is Venture Global’s second LNG facility in the U.S. to begin operations. The company’s Calcasieu Pass LNG terminal began exports from Cameron Parish, in Southwest Louisiana, in March 2022.