US agency seeks comment on Exxon Mobil LNG terminal
Date: 23-Sep-04
Country: USA
The import terminal, would be able to deliver up to an average 2 billion cubic feet of gas a day and have a peak capacity of 2.7 billion cubic feet a day (Bcfd).
The Golden Pass terminal would be located 10 miles south of Port Arthur, Texas, and built in two phases, each one lasting about four years, in a $600 million project.
Staff at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is reviewing the project, will take public comment on the terminal through Oct. 20.
In its environmental assessment, agency staff will look at the impact of the project on water resources, wetlands, air quality, noise, vegetation and wildlife.
At the end of its review, the staff will make a recommendation to the agency's commissioners, who will vote on whether the terminal should be approved.
Phase two of the project would begin one year after phase one construction and would double the average capacity of the terminal from 1 to 2 Bcfd.
The project includes about 122 miles of pipeline to transport the gas from the terminal to the country's pipeline network.
The terminal would be able to handle up to 200 LNG tankers a year.
LNG accounts for about 2 percent of U.S. gas supplies, but imports are growing and could meet about 10 percent of total U.S. gas needs by 2010, according to government estimates. Last year, Exxon Mobil reached an agreement for Qatar to supply 2 Bcfd of LNG to the U.S. market for 25 years.
The expected jump in LNG imports reflects the gap between domestic gas production and growing demand, especially from new power plants that are mostly fueled by natural gas.
LNG is natural gas treated for transportation aboard special tankers. The gas, cooled to minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 162 Celsius), changes into a liquid and shrinks to less than 1/600 of its original volume.
Once it arrives at a terminal, the LNG is returned to a gaseous state and fed into pipelines.
