Venture Global hits back at Shell's fraud claims in LNG arbitration battle

By Stephanie Kelly, ‌Marwa Rashad and Curtis Williams

LONDON, Dec 10 (Reuters) - Venture Global submitted its response late on Tuesday to a legal challenge from ‍Shell over ‌the oil major's defeat in an arbitration case concerning liquefied natural gas cargoes, rejecting allegations of fraud and accusing Shell of ⁠breaching arbitration confidentiality.

The legal documents submitted in New York Supreme Court ‌mark the latest development in a prolonged saga over Venture Global's failure to deliver LNG under long-term contracts while selling on the spot market as prices soared after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Shell and other companies including BP and Edison filed arbitration claims against Venture Global starting in 2023. Shell lost its case ⁠in August, while BP won its case in October. Unipec has settled its case, Reuters reported previously, citing sources.

In a challenge last month to the arbitration ruling, Shell alleged ​that a third party testified in arbitration that Venture Global had abruptly decided to ‌delay the start of its Calcasieu Pass LNG plant. Shell said ⁠it asked arbitrators to study that communication, but said Venture Global avoided disclosure by giving misleading statements.

Venture Global said in its filing on Tuesday that Shell had provided no evidence of the alleged fraud. It said the third party, which was redacted, "did not ​testify to written communications with Venture Global" and that Venture Global's counsel did not make misleading statements.

The LNG producer also said in the filing that Shell had breached arbitration confidentiality to share information with Venture Global's counterparties and their counsel.

EMAIL SUGGESTS INTEREST IN COMMERCIAL RESOLUTION

Shell's arbitration case centred around cargoes from Venture Global's Calcasieu Pass facility. Shell also has a long-term contract with Venture Global's Plaquemines facility.

In ​its legal ‍filing, Venture Global included an email from ​what it said was a Shell executive, whose name was redacted, signalling an interest in reaching a commercial resolution.

"We remain interested in finding a commercial resolution for both the CP (Calcasieu Pass) and Plaquemines situations and I welcome a conversation at your earliest convenience," the Shell executive told Venture Global in an email dated the same day the oil major filed its challenge.

The Shell executive also told Venture Global in the email that the arbitration outcome between the LNG producer and BP raised significant concerns about the evidence presented in that proceeding, and suggested ⁠that Shell's arbitration should have been decided in the same way.

Venture Global shares, also under pressure from its exposure to a possible LNG supply glut, have declined 22% since Shell first filed the ​challenge last month. They are hovering near an all-time low of $6.56 per share compared with $24 when they began trading on the market in January. 

Reuters previously reported that BP won its arbitration case with an argument of unfair behaviour by Venture Global, citing five sources.

BP’s arbitration win in October gave Shell a basis for its challenge, legal experts told Reuters.

“Shell referencing ‌BP’s win (in its challenge) signals that similar fact-patterns led to different tribunal outcomes, strengthening Shell’s argument that full evidentiary access matters,” said Claudio Steuer of the Oxford Institute for Energy Studies.

(Reporting by Stephanie Kelly, Marwa Rashad and Curtis Williams; Editing by Nia Williams and Stephen Coates)