HOUSTON, March 17 (Reuters) - Venture Global LNG said on

Sunday it would acquire a fleet of nine liquefied natural gas

(LNG) transport vessels, expanding its ability to sell and ship

its own cargoes.

Venture Global has exported hundreds of cargoes since it

started liquefying gas for export in 2022 from the first of its

three planned facilities in Louisiana. The vessels it used were

owned by other companies and leased.

The nine vessels in Venture Global's future fleet will

be built in South Korea with the first to be delivered later

this year, the Arlington, Virginia-based company said.

The company has shipped more than 250 cargoes under its

own account from the first plant, called Calcasieu Pass,

sparking complaints from big-name energy companies holding

long-term contracts that the sales should have been made

available to them.

Venture Global says despite the shipments, the Calcasieu

Pass plant has yet to start full commercial operations due to

equipment malfunctions. Its contracts allow it to decide when

the plant is fully operational.

The company hopes to complete the commissioning of the plant

by the end of the year, CEO Mike Sabel told reporters gathered

at Venture Global's Houston offices on Sunday. Repairs were

going well, he said.

The plant does not have redundant power systems and the

potential for outages has kept it from moving to commercial

operation, he said.

But customers including BP, Shell, Edison

, Repsol, Galp Energia, Unipec and

Orlen ( PSKOF ) say they have lost billions of dollars in

revenue. They have initiated arbitration proceedings against

Venture Global and have pressed federal regulators to allow them

to view confidential documents on the plant's startup.

Shell on Sunday declined to comment on Venture Global's

latest move to bolster its sales. Shell previously said Venture

Global's sales of Calcasieu plant LNG cargoes without providing

them to contract customers was deceitful.

Spanish energy giant Repsol has asked U.S. regulators to

review the plant's commissioning process.

The shipping fleet, along with a deal Venture Global has

for the long-term use of an import terminal to regasify its

cargoes in Europe, would give the company a bigger role in the

global supply chain for its LNG, the company said.

The second phase of Calcasieu Pass could start producing

LNG in 2026 if it gets regulatory approval soon, Sabel said on

Sunday. The plant would have capacity to produce 20 million

metric tons per annum (mtpa), much of which the company has

already sold through 20-year sales and purchase agreements.

The first two production trains at the plant could be

completed within 10 months, Sabel said.

The company is planning another LNG project at

Plaquemines, also in Louisiana. The completion of that project

would give Venture Global more capacity than Shell, BP or Exxon,

Sabel said.

Venture Global does not expect to sell 100% of future

liquefaction capacity, with plans to trade the excess, Sabel

added.

If a pause by the U.S. government on approving new LNG

projects announced in January is prolonged, it would drive up

the global cost of the fuel, Sabel said.

If the pause becomes permanent, Venture Global will invest

in plants in other parts of the world, said Sabel.

"We will look for opportunities to develop liquefaction

facilities outside the U.S.," Sabel told journalists.

A recent fall in LNG prices is driving higher demand for

cargoes from Europe, he added.

Sabel also said the company was not interested in any

mergers nor partners since money was not a problem and the focus

was on continued expansion.