Innovative Solution Proposed for a New LNG Terminal Sited Off the Louisiana Coast

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). MacMoRan Exploration Company (NYSE:MMR) (New Orleans, Louisiana), a wholly owned subsidiary of Freeport MacMoRan Energy LLC is planning to construct a new LNG receiving terminal in offshore water off the coast of Louisiana. The Main Pass Energy Hub (MPEH) will be located in 210 feet of water approximately 17 miles southwest of Venice Louisiana in Main Pass Block 299. MacMoRan will convert a former Gulf of Mexico sulfur-mining project into one of the first new LNG receiving and re-gasification terminals to serve the U.S. (PEC 02005295).

The planned facility will have a projected LNG import capacity of seven million tons per year, which roughly equates to 350 Bcf of natural gas per year. MacMoRan will convert several existing interconnected platforms and construct a soft berth that could unload a 145,000 cubic meter LNG tanker in 12 hours. Other facilities include a 2.7 Bcf cryogenic LNG storage tank, a 30-40 Megawatt powerhouse, and 30,000 - 40,000 horsepower of turbine-based compression to match the pressure of probable shore based transmission line interconnections.

What makes this project somewhat different from the 40 plus others that are being proposed is that the MPEH will leach out a two-mile salt cavern structure below the platforms that will add 28 Bcf of natural gas storage to bring more value to the proposed $300 million plus project. Peak gas send out capacity will equal 2.5 Bcf per day when combining the one Bcf per day vaporization capacity of the platform facilities and the 1.5 Bcf per day send out capacity of the cavern storage.

The platform itself is designed to withstand a 200-year storm. Taking into account the average meteorology of the area, the MPEH should experience 95 percent utilization in non-hurricane conditions.

Natural gas from the MPEH will be exported through two new pipelines. The first will be an 89-mile segment making landfall in Mobile Bay Alabama for the Florida & East Coast pipeline network and the second will be a new 43.5-mile pipeline segment, with an interconnection to area pipelines in the Venice, Louisiana vicinity. Altogether there could be as many as eight interconnections with major pipeline systems.

MacMoRan plans to make a full permit filing with the coast guard and other government agencies for the new facility in March of 2004. Construction on the MPEH project could begin as early as the first quarter of 2005 with completion in late 2007 or early 2008.

The MPEH is one LNG project amoung over 40 planned new LNG terminals and major LNG terminal expansions that industrialinfo is currently tracking in North America as part of its LNG Database. Contact the Industrialinfo.com Members Center for details on the rest, including new expanding coverage into international LNG production & LNG receiving terminals.