Federal regulators have authorized Venture Global's $4.5 billion Calcasieu Pass LNG project in Louisiana to export to China, South Korea, Japan and a number of other nations where liquefied natural gas prices are higher.

Virginia-based Venture Global LNG has secured a $1.3 billion equity investment from New York investment firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners for its liquefied natural gas project in Cameron Parish, Louisiana. - giving the LNG project a major financial boost as construction starts.

Construction activities have started on the 10-million-metric-ton-per-year Calcasieu Passproject, with over $250 million spent on site preparation work, final engineering and equipment purchases and fabrication, Venture Global LNG said in Tuesday announcement.

Venture Global's executives said Stonepeak Infrastructure, which has offices in Houston, brings experience in LNG and large-scale infrastructure projects.

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Venture Global's Co-CEO Bob Pender added, "Calcasieu Pass is already significantly advanced in both site construction and module manufacturing, owing to the $855 million previously raised to date. We are finalizing the balance of our Calcasieu Pass financing with our consortium of project finance lenders, and we look forward to providing LNG to our global customers – Shell, BP, Edison S.p.A., Galp, Repsol and PGNiG – in 2022."

The Calcasieu Pass project received the green light from the Federal Regulatory Energy Commission earlier this year. In March the U.S. Energy Department approved Venture Global to export liquefied natural gas to non-free-trade agreement countries, an important step needed to sell its products to Asian countries where demand for LNG is expected to swell.

Venture Global has hired Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE) to provide a process solution that utilizes mid-scale, modular, factory-fabricated liquefaction trains. Kiewit is designing, engineering, constructing, commissioning, testing and guaranteeing the Calcasieu Pass facility.

The terminal has 20-year supply agreements with several customers, including the international energy companies Royal Dutch Shell and BP.

As part of Stonepeak's investment, the investment firm's Managing Director James Wyper will join the board of Calcasieu Pass.

"We are long-term believers in the increasing importance of LNG as a global source of greener, cheaper energy ... Calcasieu Pass will be a critical provider of LNG to its blue-chip customer base and we look forward to supporting Venture Global, who we believe to be a global leader in developing low cost LNG production, in its efforts to bring cost-advantaged supply to new and existing markets," added Stonepeak Senior Managing Director Jack Howell.

Morgan Stanley served as the exclusive financial advisor for Venture Global LNG on this transaction and Latham & Watkins LLP served as Venture Global's legal counsel.

Simpson Thacher served as legal counsel for Stonepeak.

Venture Global is also advancing on two other LNG export projects on the Gulf Coast. The company said it expects to secure federal approvals for its 20 million-metric-ton Plaquemines LNG in the third quarter of this year in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana and start construction shortly thereafter. It's also starting applying for permits for a third project called Delta LNG, a 20-million-metric-ton project also proposed in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana.