President Donald Trump speaking at Cameron LNG Export Terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana in 2019. (Scott Clause/USA Today)
U.S. liquefied natural gas exports were able to replace a substantial amount of gas supply to Europe after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022.
Trump lifted former President Joe Biden's pause on new liquefied natural gas export permits. The National Association of Manufacturers conducted a study on the Biden ban that found nearly 1 million jobs would be threatened by the liquefied natural gas pause over the next two decades if the restriction remained in place.
The Plaquemines, Louisiana, liquefied natural gas facility is expected to produce approximately 27 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of liquefied natural gas, but with the additional investment, it is expected to provide a total production capacity of more than 45 MTPA at Plaquemines.
Energy Secretary Chris Wright, pictured here, and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are traveling to a Louisiana-based liquefied natural gas exporter on March 6, 2025. (Al Drago/Getty Images)
"Thanks to President Trump’s leadership, companies are investing in America again," Wright said. "Just 50 days in, the American people are already seeing the impacts of the energy dominance agenda — and this is just the beginning."
TRUMP LIFTS BIDEN'S LNG PAUSE, INCREASE OIL DRILLING DURING 1ST DAYS IN OFFICE
The planned Plaquemines expansion is expected to consist of 24 trains and would represent an approximately $18 billion additional investment in Louisiana, bringing Venture Global’s total investment in U.S. projects to more than $75 billion.
Venture Global CEO Mike Sabel told Fox News Digital that the expansion makes Plaquemines "the largest" liquefied natural gas "export facility built in North America," and said supplying liquefied natural gas to U.S. allies will have a "substantial impact on the U.S. balance of trade."
"We believe this flexible incremental capacity will position us to respond rapidly to market growth signals," Sabel said. "In a capital-intensive commodity industry, capital will always flow to the most competitive projects, and we believe that an expansion of Plaquemines is one of the most economically efficient opportunities available to meet growing" liquefied natural gas demands.
A liquefied natural gas tanker is seen in Port Canaveral, Florida. (Malcom Denemark/Florida Today)
The visit and the massive investment come just days after Trump's first address of his second term to a joint session of Congress. The president vowed to "make America affordable again" by reducing the cost of energy.
"A major focus of our fight to defeat inflation is rapidly reducing the cost of energy," the president said during his speech. "We have more liquid gold under our feet than any nation on earth, and by far. … And now I fully authorize the most talented team ever assembled to go and get it."
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He added, "It's called drill, baby, drill."
Slashing energy prices was one of Trump's many campaign promises before he was elected in November 2024. At a rally in State College, Pennsylvania, Trump vowed to lift the U.S. pause on U.S. liquefied natural gas export terminals.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/us-energy-dominance-wright-burgum-visit-louisiana-liquefied-natural-gas-facility-amid-18b-expansion