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PRESS RELEASE: Louisiana Bucket Brigade Responds to Venture Global’s Final Investment Decision on Plaquemines Gas Export Facility

(New Orleans, LA)

Monday March 13th, 2023 – On Monday, March 13th, Venture Global announced a final investment decision for the second phase of its gas export terminal in Plaquemines Parish. With the onslaught of gas export terminals being built on the Gulf Coast, particularly on Louisiana’s coast, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade’s Executive Director, Anne Rolfes, released the following statement:

“While this may be a profitable decision for Venture Global and its customers, including ExxonMobile, Chevron, and China Gas, this will be a disastrous decision for the people of Plaquemines, the fishers and shrimpers whose livelihood this terminal will destroy, all Louisianans who depend on a healthy coast to protect us from worsening hurricanes, and the rest of the world calling for an end to fossil fuel production.

In Cameron Parish, another Venture Global gas export terminal, Calcasieu Pass, is already operating. The  pollution and the giant tankers are decimating the seafood industry and poisoning the community. Venture Global’s own  reports to the state and federal government detail that the  facility has  recurring accidents. There are constant flares, a clear sign that it is out of control. This company  may have the financial backing to build a facility, but it does not  have the expertise to safely operate it.

This financial decision Is not the final word on this facility – far from it. We will pursue every avenue to stop it. President Biden may have broken his campaign promise today by approving the Willow pipeline, but we are not daunted. The convergence of these two actions on the same day makes the importance of our work even clearer. We choose – any day of the week – to stand with the fisherman and shrimpers and lifelong residents of Louisiana. We will defend our lives, we will defend our coast. Our work has just begun.”

In January, the Louisiana Bucket Brigade released a report detailing operational problems at Venture Global’s Calcasieu Pass facility. According to the facility’s own documents, they are either underreporting accidents or failing to report them at all. Another report from Friends of the Earth, Bailout Watch and Public Citizen, also exposes how companies like Venture Global have exploited the war in Ukraine to rush the gas export terminal buildout, and lock us into fossil fuel dependency for decades. The report lists 6 20-year contracts Venture Global has received for its Plaquemines Phase 2 facility.

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CONTACT:

Elon Glickman, 818-669-2859, elon@redcypressconsulting.com, on behalf of Louisiana Bucket Brigade
Anne Rolfes, Executive Director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, 504-452-4909, anne@labucketbrigade.org

About Louisiana Bucket Brigade

Since 2000, Louisiana Bucket Brigade has worked with towns and neighborhoods next to Louisiana’s oil refineries, chemical plants and other petrochemical infrastructure — the places most impacted by pollution. Louisiana Bucket Brigade partners with the communities to help residents amplify their voices and challenge the petrochemical industry’s relentless expansion.

Visit the labucketbrigade.org website for more information.