The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) issued a Federal Register notice on Friday announcing the availability of a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on Freeport-McMoRan Energy LLC’s proposed Main Pass Energy Hub liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port license application. The port would be located in the Gulf of Mexico in Main Pass Lease Block 299 at a former sulphur mining facility about 16 miles southeast of Venice, LA, in a water depth of 210 feet. It would utilize four existing platforms, bridges and other structures and would include construction of two additional platforms to support LNG storage tanks (totaling 145,000 cubic meters) and a ship berthing area. The project also would include construction of 192 miles of 12-36 inch diameter pipelines. Main Pass Energy Hub would be developed over an existing salt formation in which storage caverns will be developed with a capacity to store 28 Bcf of natural gas. The terminal is expected to vaporize and deliver 1 Bcf/d of natural gas. Three public meetings will be held on the project on July 18, 19 and 20 in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. A copy of the DEIS is available at https://dms.dot.gov under docket number 17696.

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services assigned a BBB+ rating to Dominion Resources’ (BBB+/Negative/A-2) $300 million senior notes due 2010 and its $300 million senior notes due 2035. Proceeds from the offerings will be used to reduce commercial paper balances and to partly prefund a $700 million maturity in the third quarter. The outlook is negative, S&P said, because of Dominion’s weak but improving financial profile. “The ratings on Dominion reflect its utility subsidiaries’ cash flow stability and favorable regulatory environment, combined with riskier oil and gas exploration operations and a growing portfolio of unregulated power generation,” said S&P credit analyst Aneesh Prabhu. In nearly all of its businesses, Dominion faces a high level of commodity price risk although it actively manages its exposure, she said. The company’s financial profile is weak for the rating but is expected to strengthen in 2005. Richmond, Va.-based Dominion had about $19.2 billion of debt (including hybrids and imputed debt equivalents) as of March 31.

©Copyright 2005Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.