Feb 19 (Reuters) - U.S. federal regulators on Wednesday

gave Venture Global LNG permission to increase the export

capacity of its Plaquemines, Louisiana, LNG plant.

Regulators in a statement said they had approved the plant

increasing production capacity to 27.2 million metric tons per

year of the superchilled gas, up from 24 million tons.

The capacity increase means the second largest LNG exporter

in the United States will be able to grow overseas shipments

from Plaquemines by about 13%, strengthening the U.S. as the

world's largest exporter of the fuel.

Venture Global ( VG ) in January became one of the most valuable

U.S. LNG companies when it began trading publicly.

Venture told investors last month its strategy is to have

extended commissioning periods so it can maximize profits

through spot sales at prices higher than it can get under

long-term contracts, and to produce at well above the plant's

design capacity to sell excess LNG on the spot market.

Plaquemines is expected to be in commissioning for almost

three years when phase 1 and 2 are combined, with all the

profits going to the company and its long term customers

receiving their first cargoes in 2026 and 2027.

Regulators acknowledged the increase in LNG capacity would

have an adverse environmental impact but said it remained at

acceptable levels and was not inconsistent with public interest.

"We acknowledge that, the project will increase the

atmospheric concentration of GHGs (green house gases) and will

contribute cumulatively to climate change, but we are unable to

characterize these emissions as significant or insignificant,"

FERC said.

U.S. President Donald Trump has declared an energy emergency

and has vowed to grow U.S. energy production and exports.