Cms Energy News

U.S. The import and use of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the U.S. has been staging a comeback.. The country's two active import terminals are handling a rising number of tanker cargoes, with imports up 90 percent last year, and there are plans to re-launch two dormant terminals during the next two years. U.S. demand for natural gas is projected to rise strongly over the next decade, with most new power generation plants opting for gas because of economic and environmental benefits. The four U.S. import terminals were built during the 1970s and reflected the energy conservation concerns of that era. Rising domestic supplies and deregulation, however, soon led to much lower natural gas prices and the U.S. market for imported LNG went the way of the lava lamp and bell-bottom pants.

U.S. The import and use of Liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the U.S. has been staging a comeback. The country's two active import terminals are handling a rising number of tanker cargoes, with imports up 90 percent last year, and there are plans to re-launch two dormant terminals during the next two years. U.S. demand for natural gas is projected to rise strongly over the next decade, with most new power generation plants opting for gas because of economic and environmental benefits. The four U.S. import terminals were built during the 1970s and reflected the energy conservation concerns of that era. Rising domestic supplies and deregulation, however, soon led to much lower natural gas prices and the U.S. market for imported LNG went the way of the lava lamp and bell-bottom pants.

Britain's BG Plc secured rights to deliver liquefied natural gas (LNG) through one of only two functioning import terminals serving booming U.S. energy markets. The UK gas producer will have use of 80 percent of capacity at CMS Energy's Lake Charles, La., facility from January 2002. It will have use of total capacity from September 2005 after a contract ends with an existing customer. Financial terms were not disclosed. BG Chief Executive Frank Chapman would only say that the deal involved payment of a "fixed annual fee" that will rise in 2005 to reflect the higher capacity used. But it is likely that BG fought off some stiff competition…

While seemingly miniscule in terms of deadweight tons ordered and delivered per year as compared to the shipbuilding business as a whole, the production of gas tankers, LNG and LPG, are high-value, high prestige orders that are likely to rise significantly in the coming years. Consistently high oil prices have effectively forced the production and processing of gas, and the current trend is towards increased usage of this valuable commodity. Late last month, the gas and power division of Royal Dutch/Shell ordered two additional liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers to support its growing global LNG business. Shell International Gas Limited…