First New LNG Terminal in 20 Years Nears Completion in the U.K. as a Further Expansion Phase is Announced

---

Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). National Grid Transco plc (NGT) (NYSE:NGG) (London United Kingdom) is nearing completion on a new LNG terminal on the River Medway estuary about 20-miles east of central London, U.K. Grain LNG Limited, a subsidiary of NGT, will own and operate the terminal, which is scheduled for commercial operations in 2005. NGT has signed contracts with BP and Sonatrach for 3.3 million tons per year of import capacity for duration of 20 years.

The Isle of Grain facility was originally constructed in 1982 as a peak shaving plant for high demand periods of natural gas consumption. The original facility already contains LNG storage facilities capable of storing 200,000 cubic meters of LNG, a re-gasification plant with gas vaporization and liquefaction facilities.

NGT received planning permission by the Medway Council in April of 2003 to convert the existing Isle of Grain terminal into a LNG importation facility. Present activities as the site involve the construction of a deep-water jetty enabling purpose built LNG tankers to dock as well as installing new boil-off gas compressors, high efficiency vaporizers, a cryogenic pipeline to transport LNG from the tankers to the tanks, and the conversion of the four existing LNG storage tanks for importation from LNG tankers.

NGT is now planning a phase II expansion to the Isle of Grain LNG Terminal (PEC 78000308). The $155 million expansion project will involve the construction of three new 20,000 - 30,000 cryogenic LNG storage tanks, further vaporization facilities and LNG tanker discharge capacity. NGT expects to select an E+P+C contractor in the late third quarter of 2004 for the expansion and hopes to begin construction in the first quarter of 2005 with completion targeted for 2007. When the second phase is complete the LNG facility will be capable of supplying up to five percent of the daily natural gas demand in the U.K.