STX Heavy Industries Wins Preliminary Deal from Grupo Indi to Built LNG Terminal on Mexican Coast

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--STX Heavy Industries Company Limited (Jinhae-si, South Korea), a manufacturer of ship parts and a wholly owned subsidiary of STX Offshore and Shipbuilding (SEO:067250) (Jinhae-si, South Korea), which itself is a subsidiary of STX Corporation (SEO:011810) (Jinhae-si, South Korea), has been awarded a preliminary deal by Grupo Indi (Delegacion Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico) under which it will build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at the Lazaro Cardenas port, on the Pacific coast of Mexico. The terminal is expected to have the capacity to receive and process up to 3.8 million tons of LNG per year. Construction on the $700 million terminal is scheduled to begin in 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2014.

According to analysts, Mexico is expected to become increasingly dependent on natural gas imports by 2030, as the nation's gas consumption is higher than its existing production capacity and investment plans. The shortfall in the natural gas supply is expected to be met by pipeline imports from the U.S., as well as by LNG imports. More than 90% of the natural gas is consumed by the industrial and power generation sectors of the country, and that fact is expected to hold up to 2030.

According to reports in the Oil and Gas Journal (Tulsa, Oklahoma), Mexico's proven natural gas reserves, as of January 2009, were 11.8 trillion cubic feet. Southern Mexico is reported to have the highest share of the reserves while northern Mexico is likely to become the center of future growth with probable reserves of almost 10 times that of the southern region.

Petróleos Mexicanos (Pemex) (Mexico City, Mexico) is the state-operated petroleum company of Mexico, and it operates a major part of the nation's natural gas distribution network. The company's pipeline network includes ten import connections with the U.S. According to reports of 2008, Mexico imported 363.3 billion cubic feet of natural gas from the U.S., while it exported 42.9 billion cubic feet.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy related markets. For more than 26 years, Industrial Info has provided plant and project spending opportunity databases, market forecasts, high resolution maps, and daily industry news.