NEWS
Sempra and ENI sign Lake Charles LNG deal
San Diego, Aug 1 (LNG journal)
- Sempra LNG said Monday it concluded a 20-year agreement to provide ENI of Italy with about 40 percent of the capacity of its Cameron liquefied natural gas receipt terminal under development near Lake Charles, Louisiana.
Sempra LNG will begin construction of the terminal within the next two months. Cameron is the second Sempra LNG terminal to begin construction this year.
Under this agreement, Sempra will provide ENI with approximately 600 million cubic feet per day, or 6 billion cubic meters per year, of capacity from the Cameron terminal. Upon completion in late 2008, Cameron LNG will have an initial capacity of about 15.5 billion cubic metres per year.
"With this agreement, along with the other negotiations currently underway, we are confident that we will have the full terminal capacity under contract within a year," said Darcel Hulse, president of Sempra LNG.
Earlier this year, Sempra LNG awarded an engineering, procurement and construction contract for Cameron LNG, valued at about $500 million, to a consortium comprised of Aker Kvaerner of Norway and Tokyo-based Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries.
Cameron LNG is located near Henry Hub, the largest centralized point for natural gas spot and futures trading in the US, and the Gulf Coast along the Calcasieu Ship Channel, about 15 miles south of Lake Charles.
Customers of Cameron LNG will gain access to U.S. interstate and intrastate natural gas pipelines via a new pipeline built and operated by Cameron Interstate Pipeline.
ENI participated in Cameron Pipeline's open season and, as a result, ENI has also purchased capacity from Cameron Pipeline under a 20-year, 600 MMcfd agreement. The 36-inch, 35-mile pipeline has received approvals to construct and operate from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
The Cameron Pipeline provides access for up to 12 Bcfd of downstream capacity to serve the US Midwest, Southeast, Atlantic and Northeast markets.
Construction commenced early this year at Sempra LNG's West Coast terminal, Energia Costa Azul in Baja California , Mexico , which is expected to be operational in early 2008. When both terminals begin operation, Sempra LNG's total capacity at the two terminals will be 2.5 Bcfd, with room for expansion.
