Venture Global’s Plans to Expand Gas Export Terminals on Coast Called into Question
July 10, 2024 – Hurricane Beryl has exposed the fragility of the Gulf Coast’s oil and gas infrastructure, causing significant disruptions and environmental damage in Texas and Lake Charles. Several companies reported power outages, which led to the flaring of gasses at the facilities. Marathon Petroleum Corp. conducted “safe combustion of excess gasses” at its Galveston Bay Refinery in Texas City, but did not disclose the volume or duration of the flaring. Formosa Plastics Corporation and Freeport LNG also reported flaring due to the storm, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). TCEQ requires companies to report emissions data within 24 hours after flaring ceases.
In response to these petrochemical accidents, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade is urging state and federal governments to halt Venture Global’s plans to build two additional export terminals in the vulnerable landscapes of Cameron Parish and Plaquemines Parish.
Shaq Cossé, Louisiana Bucket Brigade Program Manager, said the following:
“Louisiana communities are already vulnerable to extreme weather with residents in Cameron Parish being particularly affected. In the past four years alone, they have faced multiple severe hurricanes and tropical storms, including Hurricane Laura in 2020 and Hurricane Delta shortly thereafter, which caused widespread devastation and long-term recovery challenges.
Venture Global’s plan to build a flood wall around its Plaquemines Parish facility is not a sufficient solution to the increasing risk of extreme weather events, as demonstrated by Hurricane Ida in 2021. Despite massive flood walls, facilities can become isolated by surrounding open water. Federal and state agencies failed to fully consider future sea level rise, land subsidence, and the stronger and more frequent hurricanes brought on by climate change when permitting these facilities. The potential for storm surge to overtop walls poses a significant risk of flooding and the release of toxic chemicals into nearby wetlands and communities. When Hurricane Ida hit, it flooded the site of the Plaquemines LNG plant and nearby areas, disrupted over 94% of the nation’s oil refining and gas production, and caused irreparable damage to a Phillips 66 refinery in Plaquemines Parish (source: Washington Post).”
Venture Global is incapable of operating the facility that it does have. According to its own reports to the state government, Venture Global had 2,000+ permit violations in its first year of operations.
ABOUT LOUISIANA BUCKET BRIGADE
The Louisiana Bucket Brigade uses grassroots action to support communities impacted by the petrochemical industry and hasten the transition from fossil fuels.
