Mitsubishi Corp. and ConocoPhillips announced Tuesday they have finalized their agreement to jointly develop a $400 million LNG receiving terminal with 700 MMcf/d of sendout capacity and a peak capacity of up to 1 Bcf/d proposed for the Port of Long Beach, CA. The companies had signaled their intent to form a joint venture last July (see Daily GPI, July 14, 2004).

Mitsubishi’s share in the business will be through its Sound Energy Solutions (SES) subsidiary, which started work on the venture in 2002. The project development going forward will be managed by the equally-owned joint venture company, SES Terminal LLC. Plans are to start construction of the terminal in the first half of 2006 after obtaining all necessary approvals and permits from relevant federal, state and local authorities, with completion in 2009.

Getting the approvals, however, has been far from a routine endeavor with the state and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission battling over jurisdiction in the courts, and determined local opposition seeking to derail the project . The proposed in-service date already has been pushed back from 2008 to 2009. Currently supporters and opponents are awaiting the results of an environmental impact assessment being performed by port authorities, which is expected to be released for public comment by mid-June (see Daily GPI, April 11).

©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.