By the OGJ Online Staff
HOUSTON, Sept. 11 -- Southern LNG Inc., a subsidiary of El Paso Corp., began an open season to expand its Elba Island liquefied natural gas receiving terminal near Savannah, Ga., by 80%.
The planned in-service date for the expansion is 2005, subject to receiving adequate firm subscriptions and necessary regulatory approvals.
The Elba Island facility has been inactive since 1982. It is scheduled to begin receiving LNG shipments later this month. Volumes will reach the design sendout of 440 MMcfd in 2003.
The planned $145 million expansion would add another 3.3 bcf of storage capacity with a sendout rate of 360 MMcfd, bringing total sendout capacity to 800 MMcfd.
"The recommissioning of Elba Island is a landmark event, and the announcement of this planned expansion -- before we've received even the first shipment -- demonstrates our commitment to meet the growing demand of natural gas in the Southeast markets," said Jim Yardley, president of Southern LNG.
Also, Chevron Corp. announced it has joined Canadian company Irving Oil Ltd. in its study of building a $320 million LNG plant in Saint John, NB. Irving announced last month its intention to study building the plant near its deepwater oil terminal (OGJ Online, July 25, 2001).