Anadarko gains 'foothold' into LNG sector with project acquisition

By OGJ editors
HOUSTON, Aug. 13 -- Anadarko Petroleum Corp. will acquire Access Northeast Energy Inc. (ANEI), a private company based in Halifax, NS, whose sole project is a proposed 1 bcfd capacity LNG receiving terminal on the coast of Nova Scotia.

ANEI Monday secured approval of the environmental assessment for the terminal and all remaining required permits and approvals are expected by yearend.

Front-end engineering and design for the terminal was completed June 30. The terminal site is at Bear Head, Point Tupper, on Cape Breton Island, along the Strait of Canso in an industrial zoned area. Commercial operations are expected in late 2007.

For Anadarko, the acquisition provides "a competitive advantage in international natural gas development," said Bob Daniels, Anadarko senior vice-president, exploration and production. "We have gained a potentially low-cost, low-risk entry into the LNG business, one of the fastest growing segments of our industry," he added.

In Anadarko's view, the participation in the commercialization of international gas resources is "becoming more necessary in the upstream industry," Daniels said. "Anadarko is actively exploring and producing oil in Algeria and Qatar, two of the world's top LNG exporting countries. We are making a concerted effort to extend our gas exploration in those countries, as well as in other producing regions."

Houston-based Anadarko will use the planned Bear Head terminal as a "foothold" into the LNG market, it said, and it expects to partner with other "major entities such as national oil companies to facilitate the broader value chain of investment, with the primary purpose of using regasification as a leveraging vehicle into new upstream natural gas opportunities and profitability," Daniels said.

"Our focus remains on the front and back ends of the value chain, and we will look to partners to provide capital and expertise particularly in the midstream segments," he added.