|
Add another LNG proposal to the list Cheniere Energy takes option for its fourth possible Gulf Coast LNG site Larry Persily Petroleum News Government Affairs Editor
Houston-based Cheniere Energy Inc. has announced it is looking at a fourth possible liquefied natural gas receiving terminal on the Gulf of Mexico, although it acknowledges the outcome of this latest proposed site will depend on whether the community wants it.
Cheniere, a shallow-water Gulf of Mexico oil and gas explorer and producer, reported Jan. 13 it has signed an option with Atlantic Marine Inc. to purchase a potential LNG receiving terminal site in an industrial zone on Pinto Island in Mobile Bay, Ala.
“The site is well suited from a technical standpoint and is located in an industrial area,” said Keith Meyer, president of Cheniere LNG. “We have now begun a process of community outreach to evaluate whether the residents of Mobile and its surroundings would support an LNG receiving facility at this site. We will only proceed with this project if we feel that the community would support us.”
The proposed site — on Pinto Island — is in front of downtown Mobile. Atlantic Marine’s shipyard property on the island is on a deep-water channel.
Herschel Vinyard of Atlantic Marine said in the joint press release with Cheniere, “Atlantic Marine looks forward to the use of the available site on Pinto Island for the development of an LNG receiving terminal. A facility of this type would be beneficial to the local economy and would position Mobile as a significant gateway to North America for world natural gas.” Follows last month’s Texas announcement Cheniere and ConocoPhillips last month announced plans to build an LNG receiving terminal at Freeport, Texas, about 40 miles down the Gulf of Mexico coast from Galveston, Texas. The terminal, scheduled to start operations in mid-2007, would eventually handle an average 1.5 billion cubic feet per day.
Cheniere also is working to develop two other additional LNG receiving terminals along the Gulf of Mexico coastline — at Corpus Christi, Texas, and Sabine Pass, La.
“While we have advanced three locations to the stage of submitting an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, we have reviewed numerous locations that failed to meet our criteria,” Meyer said in announcing his company’s fourth proposed LNG terminal.
“We are committed to continue looking for suitable locations because we think it will be difficult to permit enough sites to secure this nation’s gas needs. If the community supports this project (Mobile, Ala.), we will begin preparing an application for a permit.”
Cheniere’s Mobile site is among the more than two dozen LNG terminals proposed for the U.S. Gulf Coast, West and East coasts as natural gas suppliers and distributors line up for new supplies to meet the nation’s growing shortage of gas. At best, say many in the industry, no more than half a dozen of the proposed terminals will be built this decade.
| 