Sept 24 (Reuters) - The tanker docked for the past month

at U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Venture Global LNG's

Plaquemines export plant under construction in Louisiana had

left by Tuesday morning, according to data provider LSEG.

Energy analysts said that was likely a sign the plant was

getting closer to producing and exporting its own LNG.

The tanker, called Qogir, arrived at Plaquemines from Norway

full of LNG in late August. It left the plant with less LNG,

according to the LSEG data.

Energy analysts have said Venture Global used some of that

LNG to cool down areas of the facility as part of the

commissioning process to get the plant ready to produce its own

LNG for export.

Officials at Venture Global were not immediately available

for comment.

LNG plants under construction, like Plaquemines, use the

super-chilled gas to test and cool equipment in preparation for

the start of production.

Plaquemines started pulling in very small amounts of natural

gas from U.S. pipelines in late June. Analysts have said the

plant could start turning pipeline gas into LNG in test mode in

the coming weeks or months.

Venture Global has said that 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 per annum (MTPA) of LNG.

One billion cubic feet is enough gas to supply about five

million U.S. homes for a day.

(Reporting by Scott DiSavino; Editing by Emelia

Sithole-Matarise)