Sempra Energy is developing two liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification terminals in North America and will become a major importer of this commodity. LNG imports will help bridge the gap between supply and demand of natural gas. Increased natural gas supply, through the importation of LNG, will help lower the prices of natural gas - which can help the economy.

Sempra Energy’s LNG locations
Sempra Energy is strategically positioned with one site on the West Coast and one on the Gulf Coast. Cameron LNG and Energ?a Costa Azul translate into 2.5 billion cubic feet per day of new gas supply capable of serving the North American market.

Sempra Energy is moving ahead rapidly on two major LNG regasification facilities.
Energia Costa Azul
Our proposed Energia Costa Azul LNG receiving terminal on the coast of Baja California, Mexico, will begin operations in 2007 and will process 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day. On more than 300 acres of land far removed from any residential areas, the site is 14 miles north of Ensenada in a remote, undeveloped area that is suitable for industrial use, including energy storage.

We have worked with public officials, community leaders, local biologists and naturalists in Baja California to produce a site plan that improves the region's infrastructure while safeguarding the environment. 
In April 2003, we received the environmental permit for the $600 million project from Mexico's environmental protection agency, SEMARNAT.
In August 2003, Energia Costa Azul received a storage and re-gasification permit from the Comision Reguladora de Energia (CRE), Mexico’s national energy regulatory agency, as well as the key land-use permit from the Municipality of Ensenada. Energ?a Costa Azul is the first LNG project in Baja California to receive all three key approvals – the CRE permit, land-use permit and the environmental permit.

Because Baja California's gas infrastructure is isolated from the rest of Mexico's energy supply, it has relied on U.S. gas supplies that are delivered through the transmission systems of the Southwestern U.S. With the Energ?a Costa Azul LNG receiving terminal, these gas markets will move to the head of the line for access to new, imported gas supplies. This will empower the region with a competitive source of supply.

New gas supply is needed in Mexico because major growth in industrial and commercial businesses, as well as new power plants to serve the growing population, will create an immediate need for 500 million cubic feet of gas per day (MMCFD), half the capacity of the receiving terminal.

The remaining capacity of 500 MMCFD can become an alternative source of supply for California and Southwestern U.S. gas markets until the Baja California market grows to consume the plant's full output.

Cameron LNG
In February 2003, we signed an agreement to acquire the planned Hackberry, La., LNG receiving terminal from Dynegy. This $700 million project, now named Cameron LNG, is near the Gulf Coast about 15 miles south of Lake Charles, La. In September 2003, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorized the construction and operation of Cameron LNG, the first new LNG receiving terminal to be built in North America in more than 20 years.

Cameron LNG can process 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day. It is scheduled to begin commercial operations in early 2007. The receiving facility is only 35 miles from a major pipeline junction that provides access to a number of major U.S. gas markets. 

Sempra Energy Cameron LNG project Federal Regulators' landmark decision authorizes new Louisiana project marks company's second North American LNG facility to begin construction in 2004 SAN DIEGO, Sept. 10, 2003

Sempra Energy officials greeted today’s landmark decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorizing the company to move forward with the construction and operation of the $700 million Cameron LNG liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal near Lake Charles, La., the first new LNG facility to be constructed in the United States in more than two decades. 
Last month, the Cameron LNG facility received the final environmental impact statement (EIS) from the FERC.  The project is on schedule to begin construction in the first quarter of 2004 with operations commencing in 2007. 

Cameron LNG will have the capacity to process up to 1.5 billion cubic feet (Bcf) per day of natural gas.  During peak construction the project will employ more than 800 workers.  Upon completion it will have 50 to 60 full-time employees.

“Today’s decision is a milestone for Sempra Energy and the entire LNG industry,” said Donald E. Felsinger, group president of Sempra Energy Global Enterprises, the umbrella for Sempra Energy’s growth businesses.  “Sempra Energy stands alone as the first and only company to successfully acquire authorization from the federal regulatory commissions of the United States and Mexico for the construction of two new North American LNG facilities, Cameron LNG and Energia Costa Azul in Baja California, Mexico.

Sempra Energy
Global Enterprises
Sempra Energy LNG Corp.
Sempra Energy LNG Corp. is the newest subsidiary of Sempra Energy Global Enterprises, the umbrella for Sempra Energy's growth businesses. Sempra Energy LNG Corp. leads Sempra Energy’s efforts to develop, build and operate liquefied natural gas receiving terminals. 

Sempra Energy Solutions, Sempra Energy Resources, Sempra Energy Trading and Sempra Energy International are not the same company as the utility, SDG&E or SoCalGas, and are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission.

At Sempra Energy, we believe the gap between natural gas supply and demand in North America creates a business opportunity for our company. We think LNG is a natural fit for us because it builds on our core skills and business knowledge. We have a track record of getting permits approved ahead of the competition, because we perform our due diligence well.

Global energy giant BP on Thursday said it proposed to build a liquefied natural gas terminal (LNG) in New Jersey in an effort to boost its position in the fast-growing U.S. LNG market. BP said it planned to initiate regulatory filings with federal officials later  this month. 

The termiinal is scheduled to begin service around 2008, spokesman Howard Miller said. 
BP's Crown Landing LNG project is the latest in the United States, where lagging domestic gas production, strong demand from power plants and high gas prices have boosted LNG's attractiveness. 

Around 30 proposals to build LNG terminals have been announced in the past two years.
At the terminals, condensed LNG is regasified and put into pipelines for use by power plants and industrial users. Howard said BP, which owns about 30 %of the import capacity at the Cove Point LNG terminal in Maryland, was looking at "all other areas" in the United States to build other LNG terminals. 

He declined comment on what regions BP was considering. Howard said the company had not put an exact price tag on the proposed terminal but said parties familiar with the project, in Gloucester County in southern New Jersey, put  the cost estimate at about $500 million.
New Jersey is a major hub for interstate natural gas pipelines serving the populous Northeast, one of the biggest gas consuming regions in the United States.

Four continental U.S. LNG terminals are in operation in Louisiana, Georgia, Maryland and Massachusetts, with two others operating in Puerto Rico and Alaska.

U.S. energy regulators this year have approved two LNG projects to be built in the United States, one offshore Louisiana and one onshore. 

The facilities are the first LNG terminals approved in nearly two decades in the United States after once-abundant domestic gas supplies and low gas prices made LNG economically unfeasible for many operators.

LNG has traditionally met just about 1 percent of total U.S. gas demand though analysts forecast LNG could meet up to 10 percent of total U.S. gas use by the end of the decade.
Later this month, U.S. Energy Secretary will host  a meeting with around two dozen energy ministers to discuss LNG investments. 
 

CB&I Awarded LNG Terminal Expansion Contract CB&I, The Woodlands, has been awarded a lump-sum turnkey contract valued in excess of $80 million for an LNG terminal expansion project in Lake Charles, LA.

Owned and operated by Trunkline LNG Company, a unit of Southern Union Company, the Lake Charles terminal is North America's largest operating LNG terminal.

CB&I's work scope for the project includes the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of a new 140,000 cubic meter (approximately 880,000-barrel) LNG storage tank; modified send out pumps and vaporizers to increase plant send out; and related civil, mechanical and electrical works. The project will increase the facility's sendout capacity to 1.2 Bcf/d of natural gas from its current capacity of 630 MMcf/d. The project expects completion by the end of 2005. The terminal will remain in operation during CB&I's work. 
 

Government officials from northern Mexico's Baja California Norte state are asking US oil company Marathon to redesign its US$1.5bn liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Tijuana because plans conflict with a local urbanization effort, BNamericas has learned. "We have to determine where exactly to build these plants and under what conditions, and that is what is happening here," Sergio Montes, the state's deputy secretary of infrastructure and urban development, told BNamericas. 

Specifically, Marathon's proposed plant location would infringe on municipal urbanization plans, Montes said. However, the oil company's blueprint is partially designed to benefit the local community, Marathon spokesperson Paul Weeditz said. "We feel that the site offers unique advantages for this project and certainly the community," he said, adding the location is ecologically friendly and is secluded from residential zones. Marathon has not made public when it will request the local land-use permit, which state officials said in interviews they would oppose based on the company's current design, and is still developing the project proposal. 

The oil company aims to start construction in 2004 in time for a 2007 operational start, Weeditz said. Both sides have strong motives to establish what Weeditz called a "mutually beneficial relationship." 

Marathon's project includes a 750 million cubic feet a day regasification terminal and a 1,200MW thermoelectric plant, as well as a 20 million gallon a day water desalination plant and a wastewater treatment plant for city needs. "Municipalities understand the importance of this type of infrastructure," Montes said, while the state's public works secretary Arturo Espinoza said he is willing to work with Marathon to attract the investment.

However, Marathon is not the only LNG player in town as ChevronTexaco is also planning to develop an LNG complex offshore Tijuana.

Indeed, a source with state energy company CFE said Mexico might scrap plans to launch bidding for a Pacific LNG terminal next year considering the number of companies jostling to build a facility in Baja California.

To that end, Marathon is discussing the project with residents, community leaders and government officials in an effort to diminish protest. "We've had a very open and consistent information campaign to address concerns or questions," Weeditz said. 

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) and Qatar Petroleum (QP) announced today their acquisition of a 90 percent interest in the Edison Gas North Adriatic Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal Project. Also, Ras Laffan Liquefied Natural Gas Company Limited II (RasGas II) and Edison Gas S.p.A. of Italy signed amended Sale and Purchase Agreements to increase LNG supplies from the initially agreed level of 3.5 million tons annually (MTA) to 4.7 MTA of LNG, commencing in 2007.

The North Adriatic LNG Terminal will be located offshore of the northern coast of Italy.
The Terminal Agreements provide for a 90 percent interest for Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, while Edison Gas S.p.A. will maintain a 10 percent share. QP and ExxonMobil's shares will be equally divided between the two companies, which will each own a 45 percent share of the terminal equity.

The agreements cover the development of an offshore gasification facility utilizing the most advanced technologies. Startup is scheduled for 2007 and it is anticipated that the front-end engineering and design contract (FEED) for the terminal should be signed within the next few weeks.

The North Adriatic LNG Terminal is expected to provide the Italian energy sector with the most modern state-of-the-art terminal facilities and to support the Italian government's efforts to secure the country's increasing energy demands in the long-term.

The gas for this project will be sourced from Qatar's giant North Field, which has recoverable resources of more than 900 trillion cubic feet of gas.
 

Exxon Mobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) affiliate, Golden Pass LNG Terminal LP, has announced plans to develop a $600 million Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receiving terminal near Sabine Pass, Texas. 
The proposed project, to be located in Jefferson County, Texas, about 10 miles south of Port Arthur, was announced today at an event attended by Texas Governor Rick Perry, Consul General of the State of Qatar Mohamed Al-Hayki, local business and government officials and representatives of ExxonMobil. 
The terminal, which will process imported LNG for distribution throughout Texas and the United States, should take about three years to build and involve employment for some 600 workers during peak construction. The facility is expected to be operational in the 2008/09 timeframe, with an initial processing capacity of 1 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of LNG. The plant will be designed for an expansion to 2 bcfd throughput in the future.

ExxonMobil initiated the permitting process this week with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, an undertaking involving numerous engineering design, safety, environmental and other studies that typically lasts about 18 months.
"Secure supplies of natural gas are critical to the continued strong economic growth of Texas and the United States," said

Governor Rick Perry speaking at today's event. "This project will provide jobs and other economic benefits to Sabine Pass and Southeast Texas, and bring long-term supplies of natural gas for our industries, power plants and homes. We support ExxonMobil's efforts to bring this important project to Texas."

Stuart McGill, president of ExxonMobil Production Company, said, "We are taking another important step in our plans to develop LNG receiving terminals on the U.S. Gulf Coast. There is strong growth in natural gas demand projected in the future and the import of LNG will be an important component of the supply mix. We appreciate the commitment of Governor Perry, Jefferson County Judge Carl Griffith, Port Arthur Mayor Ortiz and other state, local and civic leaders who are working with us to bring this LNG project to Sabine Pass. This project will help support economic development in Southeast Texas and the U.S."

In October, Exxon Mobil Corporation and Qatar Petroleum announced a Heads of Agreement to supply 15.6 million tons a year of LNG (2 bcfd) from Qatar to the United States for an expected period of 25 years. ExxonMobil holds purchase options for potential LNG import sites in Corpus Christi, Texas, and Mobile Bay, Alabama. The company is also evaluating possible sites for an offshore terminal in the Gulf of Mexico.

ExxonMobil proposes $600 mln
Texas LNG terminal SAN FRANCISCO, Nov 20 (Reuters)

ExxonMobil Corp. on Thursday said it plans to build a $600 million liquefied natural gas terminal in Texas that is scheduled to start commercial service around 2008-09. The company, in a statement, said the facility would have an initial processing capacity of 1 billion cubic per day. ExxonMobil said it initiated permitting process this week with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for the terminal, one of several proposed in the past two years in the United States. 
 

ChevronTexaco Corp. Tuesday reported that its subsidiary, Port  Pelican LLC, has received approval for a Deepwater Port License from the Maritime Administration of the Department of Transportation to construct, own, and operate an LNG receiving and regasification terminal, about 40 miles off Louisiana in the Gulf of Mexico. 

The development, also known as Port Pelican, will comprise an LNG ship receiving terminal, LNG storage and regasification facilities, and pipeline interconnection to existing offshore infrastructure. Natural gas will be delivered into the US's interstate gas pipeline network via Henry Hub. 

ChevronTexaco said that approval for the project works in conjunction with its recently announced proposal for an offshore 
LNG terminal in Baja California, Mexico.

Port Pelican will be the first Deepwater Port in the US since the 1976 Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, and will be the first natural gas deepwater port in the world, ChevronTexaco  reported. 

The proposed terminal will be built using a freestanding concrete gravity-based structure (GBS) along with mechanical regasification facilities capable of handling 1.6 bscfd of gas. 

GBS construction is expected to start next year; commissioning is projected for 2007, followed by start-up operations. 

ChevronTexaco said it recently awarded major contracts for front-end engineering design and is currently securing LNG supplies through Port Pelican.