Shell has been denied access to older non-public commissioning documents of Venture Global LNG's Calcasieu Pass facility by a US regulator, marking a setback in its broader dispute over access to cargoes from the plant, reported Reuters.

Shell, alongside other companies such as BP, Galp, Repsol, Orlen and Edison, has been embroiled in arbitration cases in the US and Europe regarding the status of the plant and the inability to obtain contract cargoes for over two years.

According to Reuters, the companies involved claim to have lost billions in profits due to gas that was promised under long-term contracts but not delivered.

Venture Global LNG maintains that the Louisiana plant has not been fully commissioned, a contention that the buyers have challenged through arbitration and regulatory proceedings.

In their regulatory battle, they have secured access to some confidential commissioning documents filed with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

However, the FERC's ruling on Thursday specified that parties are entitled to view non-public documents only from January 2022, before the plant began operations.

The administrative law judge appointed by the FERC, Matthew J Vlissides Jr, ruled that Venture Global LNG is not obliged to provide non-public documents filed with the Commission other than those from the specified date, reported Reuters.

It was also noted by the judge that Shell was the sole company requesting documents dated prior to January 2022.

Adding to Shell's legal challenges, it was revealed earlier this month that the Prosecutor General of Russia had filed a lawsuit against eight of Shell’s units in Moscow’s arbitration court.