A major expansion of the Elba Island liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal in Georgia and the new Elba Express Pipeline went into service Monday to serve growing gas demand in southeastern and eastern U.S. markets, El Paso Corp. said.

The vaporization sendout capacity at the Elba Island LNG facility near Savannah, GA, has been increased to 1.75 Bcf/d. A fifth tank is scheduled to go into service this summer, raising terminal storage capacity by 4.2 Bcf to 11.5 Bcf, said El Paso’s Southern LNG Inc., owner and operator of the terminal.

The new 190-mile, 42-inch and 36-inch diameter Elba Express Pipeline has the capability to transport 945 MMcf/d from the terminal to markets in the southeastern and eastern United States. The pipeline and terminal expansion are fully supported by long-term firm capacity commitments from Shell NA LNG LLC, the company said.

“These two projects represent approximately $900 million of capital investment in critical new natural gas infrastructure, which will be used to meet the needs of consumers and provide new sources of natural gas for the growing southeastern and eastern U.S. markets,” said Norman Holmes, senior vice president and chief commercial officer for both Southern LNG and Elba Express.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the Elba Island terminal expansion and Elba Express Pipeline in September 2007 as phased projects (see Daily GPI, Sept. 21, 2007).

At the discretion of customer BG Group, Elba Island terminal may add a sixth storage tank to increase capacity to 15.7 Bcf, said spokesman Bill Baerg. He estimated that this phase two project could be operational in 2014.

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