Aug 23 (Reuters) - A tanker full of liquefied natural

gas (LNG) docked at Venture Global LNG's Plaquemines export

plant in Louisiana, according to shipping data from LSEG on

Friday, in what energy analysts said was a sign the plant could

start up in test mode soon.

The vessel named Qogir came from Norway full of LNG,

according to LSEG data and energy analysts.

LNG plants under construction, like Plaquemines, use

super-cooled fuel to test and cool equipment in preparation for

startup.

After Plaquemines started pulling in small amounts of

natural gas from U.S. pipelines in late June, analysts have said

the plant could start turning gas into small amounts of LNG in

test mode in coming months.

Plaquemines took in small amounts of pipeline gas for

several days in late June and then again in mid-July, and was on

track to pull in the fuel for 25 days in a row on Friday,

according to LSEG data.

As part of its testing process, Venture Global sought

permission in early July from the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory

Commission (FERC) to introduce gas to a gas turbine generator as

part of its testing process. FERC regulates U.S. interstate gas

pipelines and LNG terminals.

Officials at Venture Global were not immediately available

for comment. The company has said building the two phases at

Plaquemines would entail an investment of about $21 billion.

Analysts have said they expect Venture Global to complete

work on the first 1.8-billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) phase of

Plaquemines from 2024 to 2026 and the second 1.2-bcfd phase from

2025 to 2026.

The United States is already the world's biggest LNG

exporter with seven export plants able to turn about 13.8 bcfd

of gas into about 104.6 million tonnes a year (MTPA) of LNG. One

billion cubic feet is enough gas to supply about five million

U.S. homes for a day.

Analysts expect U.S. LNG export capacity will rise to around

17.0 bcfd of gas or 129.4 MTPA of LNG in mid-2025 as the first

phase of Plaquemines and Cheniere Energy's expansion at

its Corpus Christi, Texas plant start to enter service in 2024.

Venture Global has said Plaquemines' customers include units

of Exxon Mobil ( XOM ), Chevron ( CVX ), EnBW Energie Baden

Wuerttemberg, New Fortress Energy ( NFE ), PETRONAS,

China Gas Holdings ( CGHOF ), Excelerate Energy ( EE ), Polish

Oil and Gas, China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec),

China National Offshore Oil Corp, Shell and Electricite

de France.