Terminal

Operations at the Kenai, AK, liquefied natural gas (LNG) liquefaction and export terminal have been extended until October to fill an additional order, the Associated Press reported. In February the plant’s operator, ConocoPhillips, said the facility would close in the coming months due to the expiration of an existing LNG supply contract with a customer in Japan (see Daily GPI, Feb. 11). However, additional orders for shipments to Japan and one to China were secured.

FERC Wednesday officially vacated the certificate approving the Weaver’s Cove Energy LLC liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and associated facilities proposed for Fall River, MA.

Howard Energy Partners (HEP) announced it has acquired Texas Pipeline LLC and Bottom Line Services LLC for $76 million. Two firms — Crosstex Energy LP and Quanta Services Inc. — each provided $35 million in initial funding in exchange for about a 35% share of San Antonio-based HEP. Texas Pipeline operates 250 miles of gathering lines in the Eagle Ford and Pearsall shale plays. Bottom Line has built more than 500 miles of pipeline and installed more than 50 midstream facilities in the Eagle Ford.

With rapidly expanding development in the oily Bakken Shale and Three Forks formations of North Dakota, Enbridge Energy Partners LP (EEP) and Enbridge Income Fund Holdings Inc. (EIF) said Monday that additional shippers have finalized capacity commitments to the Bakken Expansion Program and the companies expect that additional capacity will be required by producers in the near future.

A C$5 billion integrated liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal, petrochemical complex and gas-fired cogeneration power plant in Goldboro, NS, received a favorable preliminary environmental review with a number of conditions last week. The Maple LNG project, formerly named Keltic LNG, which is sponsored by Netherlands-based Petroplus International and Russia’s Suntera Canada Ltd., would provide 1 Bcf/d of gas to the power plant and petrochemical complex being built by Keltic Petrochemicals.

Yemen LNG Co. began producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its second train last Thursday, one month ahead of schedule. With the completion of Train 2 at the LNG terminal at Balhaf on the Gulf of Aden, Yemen LNG production will soon reach design capacity of 6.7 million metric tons per year, the company said Friday.

Yemen LNG Co. began producing liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its second train last Thursday, one month ahead of schedule. With the completion of Train 2 at the LNG terminal at Balhaf on the Gulf of Aden, Yemen LNG production will soon reach design capacity of 6.7 million metric tons per year, the company said Friday.

GE Energy Financial Services plans to invest $150 million to acquire a one-third interest in the Gulf LNG Clean Energy Project, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal under construction by El Paso Corp. in Mississippi. Gulf LNG, which is adjacent to the Pascagoula Bayou Casotte Ship Channel, is scheduled for completion in 2011 at a cost of around $1.1 billion (see NGI, Nov. 9, 2009). The facility, which is fully contracted, is to have 6.6 Bcf of storage and be capable of 1.3 Bcf/d sendout. El Paso owns a half stake in the facility, and a subsidiary is managing construction and would be the operator (see NGI, Feb. 11, 2008). The GE business unit would acquire Houston-based Crest Group’s 30% interest. Sonangol, Angola’s national oil company, also has a 20% interest in the project.

Backers of the NorthernStar Natural Gas Corp.’s proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal have joined a business-labor coalition lobbying the Oregon legislature for legislation to streamline permitting of energy and transportation projects. NorthernStar’s LNG project threw its support behind last Wednesday’s rally staged at the Oregon Capitol in Salem by Energy Action Northwest (see Daily GPI, Feb. 11). In particular, Bradwood LNG’s backers are supporting SB 1020, which they contend is needed to assure Oregon of reliable energy supplies. “Across Oregon, there are proposals to build new roads, water and sewer lines, transmission lines, rail lines and pipelines,” a Bradwood Landing spokesperson said. “Collectively, these projects would invest billions of dollars in Oregon, creating thousands of family wage jobs and putting people to work for years. Many of these projects will be funded without any taxpayer dollars.” A number of state legislators spoke in favor of the measure during the rally.