US 'energy dominance': Wright, Burgum visit Louisiana liquefied natural gas facility amid $18B expansion

FIRST ON FOX: Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum are traveling to a Louisiana-based liquefied natural gas exporter Thursday, as the company announces a massive $18 billion expansion of its existing facility — a move the Trump administration says sends a "signal to the rest of the world that American energy dominance is back." 

Wright and Burgum will tour U.S. liquefied natural gas exporter Venture Global on Thursday as it announces its investment in expanding its Plaquemines Parish export facility. Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry will join the Cabinet secretaries. 

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The facility was approved by President Donald Trump in 2019 during his first term, along with the company’s first facility, Calcasieu Pass. Both facilities have started liquefied natural gas production in just five years. 

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. 

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 16, 2025. (Al Drago/Getty Images)

"President Trump’s vision to unleash our energy potential, drive down inflation, and sell energy to our allies is signaling to the world that America is back," Burgum told Fox News Digital. "By investing in American Energy Dominance, the administration is empowering companies like Venture Global and their hardworking employees to Make America Great Again." 

Burgum told Fox News Digital that the success of facilities like Plaquemines Parish’s liquefied natural gas export operation "is proof that America’s next ‘Golden Age’ is underway." 

Additionally, Wright told Fox News Digital that on day one of Trump’s second term, he and the Department of Energy "ended the Biden-Harris administration’s failed ban" on liquefied natural gas export permits, "sending a signal to the rest of the world that American energy dominance is back." 

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." 

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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.

President Donald Trump, center, with, from left to right, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Sabel also touted the Trump administration for creating "the best regulatory environment in decades." 

The expansion is also expected to support hundreds of new, permanent Louisiana jobs and tens of thousands of indirect subcontractor, part-time and full-time jobs throughout the state, and more than 30 other states across the nation. 

"Today’s announcement is a result of President Trump’s dedication to strengthening our energy infrastructure," Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry told Fox News Digital. "Under President Trump, Louisiana is now at the forefront of supplying LNG to our allies, and bringing America to energy independence once again." 

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.