By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Dec. 3 -- ChevronTexaco Corp. has applied to the US Coast Guard for a license to construct and operate a deepwater port off Louisiana at which it would site an LNG receiving terminal.
The development, to be called Port Pelican, would consist of an LNG ship receiving terminal, LNG storage and regasification facilities, and an interconnection to existing pipeline infrastructure for delivery of natural gas into the US interstate gas pipeline network.
ChevronTexaco plans to construct Phase I of Port Pelican as an offshore facility, initially designed to process 800 MMscfd of natural gas. The first phase of the facility is planned to be operational by 2006. Phase II would expand the terminal to accommodate a total of 1.6 bcfd of natural gas.
Audie Setters, general manager of ChevronTexaco Overseas Petroleum's international gas group, said the company welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the growth of the natural gas business, "and this LNG receiving and regasification terminal is integral to the company's larger natural gas strategy," he said.
The facility would connect to ChevronTexaco's existing offshore pipeline infrastructure to deliver natural gas from the Gulf of Mexico to the US Gulf Coast where it will be delivered to shippers via existing systems through the national pipeline grid.
ChevronTexaco's application was filed following the completion of a 16-month technical and commercial evaluation of an LNG receiving and regasification terminal in the Gulf of Mexico.
The design codes and standards applicable to Port Pelican construction and operation will meet or exceed the accepted industry practice, including US and European standards for offshore facilities, concrete construction, and LNG regasification processing, the company said.
