With the ink barely dry on the new regulations in Mexico for liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility development, Marathon Oil and several partners Monday filed the first application to develop a nearly $1 billion multi-faceted energy complex including a LNG receiving terminal with the Mexican federal Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE). The action vaulted the Marathon project in front of nearby San Diego-based Sempra Energy and another three or four other sponsors of proposed LNG facilities along the Pacific Coast of northern-most Baja, 20-40 miles south of the U.S. border.

San Diego-based spokespeople for Sempra said that the company was unconcerned about not being first for its proposed projects, for which it has already purchased land north of Ensenada, and south of proposed locations by Marathon and others. Although it was not mentioned as a factor slowing its regulatory filing in Mexico, Sempra officials did say that its former joint venture equity partner, Michigan-based CMS Energy, has pulled back its involvement to one of being the prospective LNG terminal operator and technical consultant to Sempra International’s subsidiaries developing the terminal and related natural gas transmission pipeline.

Meanwhile, a Marathon spokesperson was quoted in local San Diego news media Wednesday as saying the company’s filing in Mexico four days after the regulations were released is a sign of the company’s “commitment” to the proposed LNG project, which would also include the development of a new 1,000 MW generation plant and a desalination plant to convert ocean water into as much as 20 million gallons of potable water daily.

Marathon’s proposed site is on the southern outskirts of the large border city of Tijuana near the town of La Joya, touted as an “integrated regional energy center.” When first proposed, the Marathon overall project carried an estimated $900 million price tag, but a spokesperson told the San Diego Union-Tribune that it is expected to exceed that amount.

Marathon’s partners include the Indonesian state-owned oil company, Pertamina; Golar LNG, a Norwegian firm specializing in LNG ships; and Grupo GGS, a Mexican development company that has built large transportation and energy facilities.

©Copyright 2002 Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.