North American LNG Project Planning Exceeds $11 Billion as ExxonMobil Gas & Power Joins the Foray

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Researched by Industrialinfo.com (Industrial Information Resources, Incorporated; Houston, Texas). Natural gas demand is forecast to grow 14 percent by 2010, as U.S. domestic production will decrease by six percent from a production level of 68.7 Bcf of dry gas per day in 2002. LNG could supply as much as eleven percent of the total domestic market demand by 2010. The need for viable long-term energy solutions has led to an increase in LNG project development in North America. Industrialinfo.com is tracking over $11 billion for LNG project development in North America.

Click on the image at right to view the updated North American LNG Projects Table, featuring project contacts.

One of the recent entrants into the North American LNG storage development, ExxonMobil Gas & Power (Houston Texas), a subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corporation (NYSE:XOM) (Irving Texas), is in the early planning stages for construction of a new LNG receiving terminal in North America. The company is looking at sites on the Gulf Coast, including Sabine Pass, either on the Texas or Louisiana side of the river, and sites in Alabama.

ExxonMobil is as well looking at sites on the northern Atlantic Coast in New England. Early market studies suggest that the scope of the project could eclipse a regasification capacity over 2 Bcf/d and a capital outlay in the $1.1 billion range. If the project comes to fruition, the LNG cargos would be sourced from ExxonMobil's LNG liquefaction project in Qatar.

ExxonMobil Corporation has been involved in the LNG industry sector for over 25 years and views the North American market with a gas price of over $5 per MBTU as a viable market to enter. At a stable gas price of over $3.5 a MMBTU LNG receiving & gasification terminals become economically viable.