Venture Global denies any connection to fatal incident off Louisiana coast: Explosion and fire under investigation after death of gas pipeline worker

Following a tragic incident that left a 40-year-old worker dead, Louisiana State Police (LSP) are investigating the offshore natural gas pipeline explosion and fire to get to the bottom of the incident off the coast of Louisiana, U.S. state of Louisiana. Venture Global, a US producer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from North American basins, has denied responsibility for this pipeline and any involvement in it after reports emerged of its alleged connection to it.

The Louisiana State Police Emergency Services Unit (ESU), the primary agency in the State of Louisiana with regulatory and statutory jurisdiction over hazardous materials and explosives, became aware that something was wrong on Saturday, August 17, 2024, when they were notified of an explosion and fire offshore and a report of a missing person in a marsh near Venice in Plaquemines Parish.

The incident in the gas pipeline resulted in the death of Joshua Nichols of Lake Charles. After police officers from the Emergency Services Unit arrived at the area the next day and began an investigation into the events leading up to the incident, the preliminary investigation revealed that Nichols was operating a mud boat near a natural gas pipeline.

It is believed that the worker was working on the pipeline when the explosion and fire occurred. The reasons for this are pending the results of the ongoing investigation. Since Nichols died in the explosion, his body was recovered from the area of ​​the incident with the assistance of the Plaquemines Parish Sheriff's Office. Police confirmed that no other people were injured.

“The pipelines have been blocked and one is still burning, the remaining natural gas in the pipeline is burning. Air monitoring measurements have been taken and there is no danger to the public. This incident remains under investigation,” highlighted.

After speculation about the owner of the pipeline and reports pointing to Venture Global, which operates the pipeline, Plaquemines LNG terminal and is working to bring more similar projects online in the region, but insisted it had nothing to do with the incident.

“We are aware of media reports of an offshore pipeline incident that occurred over an hour from the Plaquemines LNG facility and hope for the safety of all involved. This pipeline has no connection to Plaquemines LNG or any other Venture Global project,” emphasized Venture Global.

The US company has two other LNG plants: Calcasieu Pass in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, which began producing its first LNG in January 2022, and CP2 LNG, the latter of which received a positive Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in July 2023.

Venture Global announced a few months ago that it would acquire a fleet of nine LNG-powered vessels currently under construction in South Korea to further integrate its business across the entire LNG supply chain.