Dominion has increased it liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage capacity at the Cove Point, MD, LNG import terminal to 7.8 Bcf from 5 Bcf with the addition of a new gas storage tank. The new tank holds 135,000 cubic meters of LNG, which is equivalent to 2.8 Bcf of natural gas.

“Increased storage gives shippers the added flexibility needed to reliably provide natural gas in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast year-round,” said Dominion CEO Thomas E. Capps. “I’m particularly proud that our staff was able to complete the project nearly three months ahead of schedule so we could provide service during the coming winter months.”

The new tank is the final step in the re-commissioning and expansion of the import terminal undertaken by Dominion in 2003. In its first year of service, Dominion Cove Point delivered 187 Bcf of natural gas, or about 51% of its peak sendout capacity.

The company also has proposed an additional expansion of the facility scheduled for 2008, which would increase sendout capacity from 1 Bcf/d to 1.8 Bcf/d and storage capacity from 7.8 Bcf to 14.6 Bcf. The 2008 project also would include 47 miles of looping along the Cove Point Pipeline in Maryland, a new 81-mile pipeline in Pennsylvania between Perulack, PA, and Leidy, PA, and various smaller new pipelines and looping projects in Pennsylvania designed to increase transportation of gas between the import terminal and Dominion’s many natural gas storage fields that serve the Northeast and Mid Atlantic regions.

Earlier this year, Norway’s Statoil signed a contract for 1.05 Bcf/d of the total 1.8 Bcf/d of sendout capacity available after the 2008 expansion project. The remaining 750 MMcf/d of capacity will be owned by Shell, BP and peaking customers.

FERC approved the resumption of LNG imports at Cove Point in October 2001. The terminal received its first commercial delivery in 23 years in August 2003 from Trinidad and Tobago. Cove Point was originally constructed in the mid 1970s at a cost of $400 million.

For more information on North American LNG import terminals see NGI’s LNG features page and detailed terminal listing at https://intelligencepress.com/features/lng/.

©Copyright 2004 Intelligence Press Inc. Allrights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republishedor redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without priorwritten consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.