Cameron LNG breaks ground on Louisiana natural gas liquefaction facility

By STEVEN MCGINN

HACKBERRY, Louisiana -- Cameron LNG has started construction on a natural gas liquefaction project in Louisiana, giving the Houston-based company the ability to liquefy natural gas and export it to the world market.

Once complete, Cameron LNG can liquefy domestically-produced natural gas for export, import LNG and regasify it for delivery to domestic markets, or re-export foreign-sourced LNG.

The terminal sits on an industrial-zoned site along the Calcasieu Channel in Hackberry, Louisiana, approximately 18 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and within 35 miles of five major interstate pipelines. The terminal is connected to these pipelines via the 36-mile Cameron Interstate Pipeline.

On Sept. 10, Cameron received final authorization from the U.S. Department of Energy to export up to 12 mtpa, or approximately 1.7 Bcfd, of domestically produced LNG to all current and future Free Trade Agreement countries, including those in Europe and Asia.

Construction on the Cameron LNG regasification terminal started in August 2005 and commercial operations began in July 2009. However, domestic market conditions roiled this project and other LNG-import sites, as bounties of U.S. natural gas derived from unconventional sources plunged market prices, and made the import of LNG uneconomical. As a result, in 2011, Cameron LNG proposed adding natural gas liquefaction and export facilities to its existing terminal in Hackberry, Louisiana.

The LNG receipt terminal has two marine berths capable of accommodating Q-Flex sized LNG ships, three LNG storage tanks of 480,000 cubic meters, and vaporization capability for regasification services of 1.5 Bcfd.

The liquefaction project will use many of Cameron LNG's existing facilities, and full commercial operation is expected to begin in 2019.

Cameron LNG is jointly owned by Sempra, GDF SUEZ, Mitsui and Japan LNG Investment, LLC, a company jointly owned by Mitsubishi Corporation and Nippon Yusen Kabashiki Kaisha.

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