The Cove Point liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on the eastern shore of Maryland was scheduled to undergo an inspection by FERC Wednesday and by the U.S. Coast Guard today. If all goes well, the mothballed terminal could receive a test LNG cargo on Friday, according to Dan Donovan, a spokesman for Dominion Resources, parent of Dominion Cove Point. He said the company also may consider plans later in the year to expand the plant and possibly its pipeline system to the Northeast gas grid.

“We’re pretty confident that we’ll get their okay,” Donovan said, regarding FERC’s inspection. Receiving the test cargo is one of the last steps before commercial start-up of the facility can get underway. Donovan said the LNG from the test cargo would remain in the pipeline system for operational purposes. The LNG pipeline stretches more than a mile offshore into the Chesapeake Bay.

Cove Point expects to start up commercial operation in early August, with the initial supply coming from Trinidad. Donovan estimated it will take the facility about six weeks to reach its full send-out capacity of 1 Bcf/d, with deliveries to go to customers in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast gas markets.

While the company currently is focused on re-starting the facility, Donovan said it may look at further expanding storage and pipeline capacity later in the year. “There’s room for a sixth [storage] tank,” he said. Cove Point currently is constructing a fifth tank, which will bring total plant storage capacity to 7.5 Bcf from 5 Bcf in September 2004. The company also may increase the capacity of its 87-mile pipeline that extends from Cove Point to Leesburg, VA, in Loudoun County, said Donovan. The pipe connects to Dominion Transmission, Columbia Gas and Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line.

The decision to expand will hinge on the demand for Cove Point’s LNG. It “[will] determine whether and how much we grow,” Donovan said. He estimated Dominion Cove Point has spent $180 million so far on commissioning the LNG terminal and on its expansion program, which includes the fifth storage tank.

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