March 6 (Reuters) - Venture Global VG.N said on Thursday it expects the project cost for its Plaquemines LNG plant in Louisiana to be around $2 billion higher than its previous forecast due to inflation and other factors.

The LNG producer expects the plant to now cost between $23.3 billion and $23.8 billion, compared to a range of $21 billion to $22 billion earlier. As of December 31, the company had paid about $19.8 billion.

Venture Global said costs to complete the project may increase further due to factors such as inflation and tariff.

The company added it has not accounted for recent tariffs by President Donald Trump's administration, which is expected to raise the cost of equipment to set up such plants.

Last month, U.S. federal regulators gave the company permission to increase export capacity of the Plaquemines plant to 27.2 million metric tons per annum from 24 mtpa.

The company also reported a fourth-quarter profit of $871 million, compared to a loss of $50 million a year ago, as its lower expenses countered a 6.6% fall in revenue to $1.52 billion.

Shares of Venture Global, which became one of the most valuable U.S. LNG companies when it listed in January, were up 1.9% at $14.50 in premarket trading.

Venture Global will also start the process of final investment decision for a second LNG plant with a liquefaction capacity of 20 mtpa at its Calcasieu Pass facility in Louisiana, it said. It has already spent $4 billion towards it as of December 31.

The company already has one LNG export facility at Calcasieu Pass, which is expected to export at least 10 mtpa once complete.

The capacity expansions come at a time when Venture Global is locked in contract disputes with customers such as BP BP.L, Shell SHEL.L and Edison EDNn.MI over non-receipt of cargoes due to lengthy testing and optimizing process.

(Reporting by Tanay Dhumal in Bengaluru; Editing by Leroy Leo)

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