Tractebel LNG North America LLC, the largest supplier of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the United States, and Oslo, Norway-based Bergesen, one of the world’s leading shipping companies, announced Tuesday the launch of a new 138,000 cubic meter LNG vessel that will begin making deliveries for Tractebel under an exclusive, long-term charter.

In another development, BP announced Monday that the government of Trinidad and Tobago gave the green light to Atlantic LNG to add a fourth train to its LNG facility in Trinidad. The approval keeps the $1.2 billion LNG project on schedule to be completed by the end of 2005, said BP, which will be the biggest shareholder in the new plant and its largest supplier of gas for liquefaction.

The new Tractebel-chartered vessel, named Berge Everett, will be used to transport LNG primarily from Trinidad to Tractebel’s Distrigas LNG terminal in Everett, MA, to the EcoElectrica facility in Puerto Rico, and to other LNG facilities in the Atlantic Basin, according to a joint statement by Tractebel and Bergesen. The Berge Everett is 100% owned by Bergesen.

“LNG is increasingly viewed as an important part of the energy supply mix in the United States and, with the addition of a new ship to our fleet of LNG carriers, we’re more prepared than ever to address customers’ growing demands for natural gas,” said Tractebel LNG CEO Richard L. Grant.

With the addition of Berge Everett, Tractebel said it has expanded its LNG shipping fleet to seven vessels that are either owned or under long-term charter. The Berge Everett is the second vessel to join Tractebel’s dedicated fleet in the past year. The first new vessel, Berge Boston, jointly owned by Bergesen and Distrigas SA, began service in January of this year. Tractebel also owns the 125,000 cubic meter carrier Matthew.

Tractebel, a subsidiary of the French water and energy company Suez, owns the Distrigas of Massachusetts LLC-operated LNG terminal in Everett, which serves most of the gas utilities in New England and key power producers. The company estimates the Distrigas facility supplies 15-20% of the region’s natural gas demand.

With respect to Atlantic LNG’s proposed Train 4 project, BP said it anticipates it will produce approximately 5.2 million tons a year of LNG, and will bring Atlantic LNG’s total production capacity to about 15 tons annually. Atlantic LNG was formed in 1995 to specifically develop an LNG facility on the southwestern coast of Trinidad. The facility currently has three trains.

“We expect BP’s gas production for LNG from Trinidad to double to over 1 Bcf/d by 2005 as Atlantic LNG’s Trains 2 and 3 increase production,” the producer said. “The addition of Train 4 could raise this to a minimum of 1.5 Bcf/d by 2006.” A joint venture of BP and Repsol, BP Trinidad and Tobago, is the largest supplier of gas in Trinidad and Tobago.

In addition to BP, the Atlantic LNG consortium has four other shareholder companies and each has the option of participating in Train 4 at the level of its shareholder interest: British Gas (26%), Repsol (20%), National Gas Company of Trinidad (10%), and Tractebel (10%). BP’s shareholder interest is 34%.

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