BP, Edison, Shell ask US, EU to intervene in Venture Global LNG dispute
HOUSTON (Reuters) — BP (NYSE:BP), Edison and Shell (LON:SHEL) pressed a U.S.-EU energy group to intervene in a dispute with liquefied natural gas exporter Venture Global LNG over the U.S. firm's failure to deliver contract supplies of the fuel.
The companies appealed to the U.S.-EU Task Force on Energy Security last month, and a Shell executive urged them to require Venture Global LNG to «immediately begin to perform» under their signed contracts.
The three are among at least four customers of the Arlington, Virginia, firm pursuing contract arbitration claims over a lack of gas supplies. Venture Global LNG has said the Louisiana plant is not fully operational due to faulty power equipment that is being repaired.
Their appeals sought to get The Hague and Washington to pressure Venture Global LNG on the contracts. In its letter, Shell accused Venture Global LNG of diverting resources into building a second LNG export plant rather than completing repairs to its first plant. The behavior «has shaken confidence in the trustworthiness of American LNG suppliers,» BP executive Carol Howe wrote in a separate letter.
Officials from the EU and U.S. indicated they view the dispute as «a contractual matter between commercial parties,» a Venture Global LNG spokesperson said on Saturday. No action was taken on Shell's request at an Oct. 30 task force meeting.
A Shell spokesman said on Saturday it was not expecting an immediate reaction by the task force, and wanted to bring a potential loss of trust in U.S. LNG to officials' attention. BP declined comment apart from its letter. Utility giant Edison did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the weekend.
Venture Global LNG is operating the Calcasieu Pass plant at
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