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FERC okays Freeport LNG port expansion
Allen Baker For Petroleum News
Federal regulators have approved a major capacity expansion at the Freeport LNG terminal, while ExxonMobil has dropped plans for another Texas LNG port.
The Freeport LNG terminal received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Sept. 22 to boost sendout capacity to 4 billion cubic feet daily from the initial 1.5 bcf, according to Cheniere Energy Inc., one of the partners.
The initial phase of the terminal about 70 miles south of Houston is about 60 percent complete. Deliveries are scheduled to start in early 2008.
Exxon drops Corpus Christi terminal Meanwhile, Exxon dropped plans for an LNG import terminal north of Corpus Christi, Texas, just after work started on another Texas LNG project involving the giant company.
Construction on the Golden Pass terminal (1 billion bcf/day) near Beaumont, Texas, began Sept. 19. Partners there include Exxon, ConocoPhillips, and Qatar Petroleum, with completion expected in 2009.
An Exxon spokesman said Sept. 25 that the company was in talks to sell its rights for the Vista Del Sole site near Corpus Christi. That site could also be used for other energy projects rather than for an LNG port, spokesman Alan Stuckert told Dow Jones Newswires.
Energy companies initially rushed to stake their claims for multiple LNG import facilities to make sure they could get some through the permitting process. Now, the companies are scaling back as permits are approved and building starts. BP last month dropped plans for a proposed $650 million LNG terminal near Galveston, Texas.
The Freeport project that’s being expanded is a partnership that includes ConocoPhillips, Michael S. Smith, Cheniere, a subsidiary of Dow Chemical Co. and Contango Oil and Gas Co. The expansion plans include a second tanker berth, an underground storage cavern, an additional tank and extra vaporization capacity.
ConocoPhillips and Dow have long-term contracts for the initial capacity, while ConocoPhillips and Mitsubishi Global Gas Corp. are signed up as customers for the second phase.
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