CMS Trunkline LNG Company, LLC Nearing Construction Phase on its Lake Charles LNG Marine Terminal

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). CMS Trunkline LNG Company, LLC (Houston Texas) has awarded Chicago Bridge & Iron (Woodlands Texas) the E+P+C contract and will begin construction on its Lake Charles LNG marine terminal expansion in the summer of 2003. The $177 million expansion will increase the total natural gas send out capacity from its current 630 mmscfd to a new daily capacity of 1.2 Bcf and a peak send out of 1.3 Bcf/d when completed in 2005.

As the result of an open season, CMS held from December 15, 2000 to February 15, 2001, BG LNG Services signed a firm service agreement for all current uncommitted vaporization & storage capacity, which amounted to 5.1 Bcf and will increase to 6.3 Bcf when an existing contract with Duke Energy LNG expires in August of 2005. Under the terms of the new contract CMS will commit to BG 570 mmscfd of send out capacity from January 1, 2005 to December 31, 2023.

CMS will increase the capacity by constructing a new 800,000 barrel double walled cryogenic storage tank to maintain the LNG at a temperature near -260 degrees Fahrenheit and also construct a new ship unloading dock with three liquid unloading arms and one vapor return delivery arm. CMS will, as well, install three new 360 mmscfd LNG pumps, four 150 mmscfd submerged combustion LNG vaporizers and a de-superheater. Two new GE MS60001B 22 megawatt turbine generator sets will supply the increased power needs of the expansion project and will make it possible to simultaneously unload two LNG tankers.

CMS expects to unload 175 LNG tankers per year at the 125-acre marine terminal when construction is completed. CMS is in the planning phase of parallel LNG terminal projects to be constructed in Mexico. CMS Trunkline LNG Company, LLC is a subsidiary of CMS Energy (Dearborn Michigan) (NYSE:CMS).

IIR has been tracking the progress of CMS's Lake Charles LNG marine terminal expansion project since August of 2001.