June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. liquefied natural gas company

Venture Global LNG's Plaquemines export plant under construction

in Louisiana started to take in natural gas from pipelines on

Wednesday, according to data from financial firm LSEG on

Thursday.

The United States is already the biggest LNG exporter in the

world. Plaquemines is expected to be the next U.S. LNG export

plant to enter service later in 2024.

LSEG data showed Plaquemines took in about 0.6 billion cubic

feet per day (bcfd) of gas on Wednesday.

One billion cubic feet is enough gas to supply about five

million U.S. homes for a day.

Analysts have said they expect Venture Global to complete

work on the first 1.8-bcfd phase of Plaquemines between

2024-2026 and the second 1.2-bcfd phase between 2025-2026.

Officials at Plaquemines were not immediately available for

comment.

In March 2023, when Venture Global made a final investment

decision (FID) to build phase 2 at Plaquemines, the company said

it had secured $7.8 billion of project financing for the second

phase, bringing the total phase 1 and 2 investment to around $21

billion.

The seven U.S. LNG export plants already operating can turn

about 13.8 bcfd of gas into about 104.6 million tonnes per annum

(MTPA) of LNG.

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 units from

the first phase of Plaquemines and Cheniere Energy's

1.5-bcfd Corpus Christi Stage 3 expansion in Texas enter service

staring in late 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 (PGNiG), China Petroleum and Chemical (Sinopec)

, China National Offshore Oil Corp (CNOOC), Shell

and Electricite de France (EDF).

Shell is also one of several customers of Venture Global's

roughly 1.6-bcfd Calcasieu export plant in Louisiana that is in

a dispute with Venture Global over failing to deliver cargoes

two years after Calcasieu started producing LNG. Venture Global

has said the plant is not yet ready for commercial operations.

Venture Global has about 70 MTPA of LNG export capacity in

operation, construction or development in Louisiana, including

the 10-MTPA Calcasieu (operation), 20-MTPA Plaquemines

(construction), 20-MTPA Delta (development) and 20-MTPA CP2

(development).