SAN DIEGO, April 21, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Sempra Energy LNG today announced plans to develop and construct a new $600 million liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal near Port Arthur, Texas, capable of processing 1.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas per day.
The facility would be constructed on part of a 3,000-acre parcel of land along the Port Arthur Ship Canal. The parcel has been owned by Sempra Energy since 1989.
The announcement coincides with a pre-filing notification the company submitted today to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This notification begins the process of securing the required FERC approval for Sempra Energy LNG's third state-of-the-art receiving terminal. The Port Arthur LNG project is expected to begin construction in 2006 with start-up slated for 2009.
The Port Arthur LNG project would feature three, 160,000 cubic meter, full-containment storage tanks and two unloading berths, and would be capable of doubling its capacity in the future to accommodate three additional storage tanks and facilities. This future expansion would allow the Port Arthur project to process 3.0 Bcf of natural gas per day.
"Sempra Energy has gained valuable experience working with the FERC during the permitting process for its Cameron LNG facility in Louisiana," said Donald E. Felsinger, group president of Sempra Energy Global Enterprises, the umbrella for Sempra Energy's growth businesses. "Cameron LNG was the first new project in more than two decades to receive FERC approval to construct an LNG receipt terminal."
During the permitting process, Felsinger said the company actively will pursue capacity and supply contracts with interested parties who would use the facility to move gas into the North American gas market, the largest in the world.
"Sempra Energy is the ideal business partner for suppliers, because we offer more marketing capabilities than other terminal developers," Felsinger added. "Our company can offer capacity through our receipt terminals, and, as North America's second largest gas marketer, we can provide a full range of services for suppliers who do not have a presence here."
"Through discussions with suppliers about securing supply and capacity agreements for our Baja California and Louisiana facilities, we have determined that there is a clear need for additional LNG receipt facilities in the 2009 time period," said Darcel Hulse, president of Sempra Energy LNG. "Our Port Arthur LNG project is ideally situated to meet the needs of those suppliers, and it has positive support from the local community."
Later this year, Sempra Energy plans to have supply and capacity contracts in place and begin construction of two other LNG receipt terminals. Energia Costa Azul, a joint project with Shell, located north of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, would process 1.0 Bcf a day, while the wholly owned Cameron LNG facility would process 1.5 Bcf a day. Cameron LNG and Energia Costa Azul are expected to begin operations in late 2007.
Energia Costa Azul is the first LNG project in Baja California to receive all key approvals and it would be the first new West Coast LNG facility constructed in North America.
Sempra Energy LNG, a unit of Sempra Energy Global Enterprises, oversees LNG project development and operations.
Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2003 revenues of $7.9 billion. The Sempra Energy companies' nearly 13,000 employees serve more than 10 million customers in the United States, Europe, Canada, Mexico, South America and Asia.
Sempra Energy Global Enterprises and Sempra Energy LNG are not the same companies as the utilities SDG&E/SoCalGas, and are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.
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