US FERC OKs LNG Projects in Mississippi

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Thursday gave final approval to two liquefied natural gas import terminals along the Mississippi coast. The LNG Clean Energy Project, located in the Port of Pascagoula, will be able to send out up to 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas a day. The $450m terminal, which will be owned by the Houston-based private investor group Gulf LNG Energy LLC, will be able to handle 150 LNG tankers a year. Separately, Chevron Corp's Casotte Landing LNG project will be located next to the company's Pascagoula refinery and will process imported LNG for distribution to industrial, commercial and residential customers in Mississippi and the Southeast region, including the growing Florida market.

The terminal will be able to send out 1.6 billion cubic feet of LNG a day. Both LNG terminals are expected to be in service in 2009. The United States must import more LNG over the next 15 years to keep up with growing natural gas demand, especially from power plants. LNG is natural gas altered for transportation aboard special tankers. The gas, when cooled to minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 162 Celsius), changes into a liquid and shrinks to less than 1/600 of its original volume. Upon arrival at a terminal, the LNG is returned to a gaseous state and fed into pipelines to take to homes and industries nationwide. Source: Reuters