Norwegian government-owned Statoil made its official debut in the U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) market last Tuesday, with the delivery of supplies to the just-restarted Dominion Cove Point LNG import terminal in Maryland.

Purchased from Spain’s Repsol SA, the cargo delivered via the British Trader equalled roughly 80 million cubic meters (MMcm) or 2.5 Bcf/d of regasified natural gas, according to the company. The tanker was being unloaded Wednesday, a Dominion spokesman said.

“It represents a milestone for our LNG business in the USA and marks the start of sales with this commodity in this important market,” said Otto Granli, Statoil’s vice president for LNG sales and shipping. “They [Statoil] expect to have a very thriving LNG business” in the years ahead, the Dominion spokesman noted.

Statoil said it was due to receive a further spot LNG cargo later this month from another supplier, which it did not identify. Final negotiations also were under way to receive long-term LNG deliveries at the Cove Point terminal, it noted.

“These will secure supplies until the Snohvit field in the Barents Sea comes on stream in 2006,” Granli said. Late last year, Statoil bought El Paso Corp.’s rights to a long-term (2006-2023) supply agreement with the Snohvit consortium, which is building the first LNG export facility in Europe. The facility will tap huge volumes of gas deep beneath the Barents Sea, pipe it ashore on the northern coast of Norway, cool it down to a liquefied state and then ship the LNG to Spain and the United States. Shipments are scheduled to start in 2006 and continue for more than 20 years.

Statoil also signed an agreement with El Paso Merchant Energy last year for the right to one-third of Dominion Cove Point’s import capacity over 20 years. The company formed affiliate Statoil Natural Gas to receive and market LNG delivered to the Cove Point import facilities, which were reopened in late August after being mothballed for 23 years.

The Statoil shipment was the second delivery to the reactivated Cove Point terminal.

©Copyright 2003 Intelligence Press Inc. Allrights reserved. The preceding news report may not be republishedor redistributed, in whole or in part, in any form, without priorwritten consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.