Venture Global has announced that an arbitration court has ruled in its favor in a dispute with Spanish energy company Repsol over the US supplier’s initial failure to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Calcasieu Pass project under a 20-year long-term contract.
The ruling contrasts with that of October 9, in which BP prevailed over Venture Global in a similar lawsuit filed before the International Court of Arbitration of the International Chamber of Commerce.
It also means Venture Global has won two of three arbitrations brought against the US’s second largest LNG exporter, having first prevailed in an arbitration brought against it by major energy company Shell.
Venture Global shares rose up to 12.6% in pre-market tradingafter the company revealed the victory in a regulatory filing. Before the announcement, they were already up almost 7% in regular trading on Wednesday.
«We are pleased that another arbitral tribunal has ruled in favor of Venture Global in the proceedings with Repsol,» Venture Global said in a statement.
Venture Global reiterated its position that it has fully complied with the terms of its long-term contracts and is confident of winning the remaining cases.
The arbitration panel awarded fees to Venture Global, according to a regulatory notice. Repsol was not immediately available for comment.
Shell, which lost an arbitration against Venture Global in August, has appealed that decision to the New York Supreme Court.
Other companies, including Italy’s Edison and Portugal’s Galp, have also filed lawsuits against Venture Global that remain pending.
They accuse the U.S. supplier of profiting from selling LNG on the spot market — when prices soared following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — instead of delivering the shipments they had signed up for years in advance.
Repsol and Galp used the same law firm in their arbitration cases against Venture Global, a source close to the cases told Reuters on condition of anonymity. Galp did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Venture Global has denied the allegations, blaming delays in business operations on a faulty electrical system that prevented the optimal operation of its Calcasieu Pass export facility in Louisiana.
Repsol signed a purchase agreement with Venture Global in 2018 to purchase 1 million metric tons per year for 20 years.
Under a recently agreed trade deal between the European Union and the United States, Europe committed to signing agreements to buy $750 billion of US energy, including LNG, by 2028.