FERC has issued a favorable draft environmental approval for an ExxonMobil Corp. affiliate’s proposal to build a 1 Bcf/d liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Corpus Christi, TX, and a 25-mile, 36-inch diameter gas sendout pipeline.

The project, to be constructed by Vista del Sol LNG Terminal LP on Quintana Island in San Patricio County, TX, received the draft environmental clearance from Commission staff earlier this month.

The $600 million terminal, which would process imported LNG for distribution throughout Texas and the United States, should take about three years to build and is expected to be operational by 2008 or 2009.

ExxonMobil also is backing the construction of another 1 Bcf/d LNG terminal just south of Port Arthur, TX. ExxonMobil affiliate Golden Pass LNG Terminal LP filed an application at FERC in November 2003 to build the facility. It expects to have the project in service by late 2008.

ExxonMobil’s LNG supply is expected to come from Qatar. In October, ExxonMobil and Qatar Petroleum announced an agreement to supply 15.6 million tons a year of LNG, or 2 Bcf/d, to the United States for 25 years,

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