Several law firms have called for a lead plaintiff to step forward in a class action lawsuit filed against U.S.-based liquefied natural gas (LNG) export project developer Venture Global.
A securities class action lawsuit has been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against Venture Global on behalf of those who purchased Venture common stock for its initial public offering (IPO). Shareholders have until April 18, 2025, to request that the court appoint them lead plaintiff.
The law firms state that Venture’s stock in the IPO was bought based on what they claim is false and/or materially misleading information concerning Venture Global’s repeated confidence in its ability to use its approach to deliver LNG to the world.
As stated in the complaint, the U.S. LNG player touted its innovative and disruptive approach, describing it as scalable and repeatable, allowing it to bring LNG to the global market years faster and at a lower cost.
On January 27, 2025, Venture conducted its IPO, selling 70 million shares at $25 per share. At the beginning of February, one of Venture’s target customers, TotalEnergies, revealed that it had rejected a long-term supply contract for LNG from Venture over a lack of trust.
According to the complaint, TotalEnergies CEO, Patrick Pouyanne , announced that he had been approached by Venture to see if the company would be interested in a long-term supply contract for LNG from the Calcasieu Pass terminal in Louisiana, scheduled to start commercial operations on April 15, 2025.
Pouyanne alleged he did not want to be in the middle of a dispute “with my friends, with Shell and BP,” noting: “The price of the LNG was so low… I said to my colleague, ‘How is it possible to pay $1 less than the rest of the market? What is the trick?’”
As a result, Venture’s stock price fell from $19.68 per share on February 5, 2025, to close at $17.48 per share on the following day. At the time of filing, the stock traded at or around $16 per share, the complaint reads, which is still well below its $25 per-share IPO price.
The U.S. player responded to TotalEnergies CEO on social media by saying: “We have always had great respect for Total, but we are disappointed to see them sound like just another foreign incumbent threatened by growing US LNG supply. It’s not a ‘trick’, it’s innovation. Venture Global has now proven twice that our unique 18+ factory-built train configuration can bring US LNG to the market both years faster and at a lower cost.”
Since the drop in share price is interpreted as having injured the investors, the action seeks to compensate the damages The complaint alleges Venture is currently facing legal challenges from existing large clients, such as BP and Shell, due to delays in supply contracts. As explained, the company’s ability to implement projects and deliver LNG to the world depends on customer backing.
Since these issues were not mentioned in the IPO, and positive statements were made about the company’s business, operations, and prospects, the lawsuit states that the statements were false and/or materially misleading and “lacked a reasonable basis at all relevant times.”
Legal troubles notwithstanding, last week, the U.S. firm disclosed plans to expand the recently inaugurated Plaquemines LNG plant by adding 24 trains, which requires an additional $18 billion investment. This would bring the plant’s capacity to over 45 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).