TransCanada and ConocoPhillips have teamed up on a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal that would be located on the Atlantic Coast of Maine at a site previously used as a U.S. Navy fuel depot about 15 miles northeast of Portland.

The companies, which have formed a partnership called Fairwinds, said Thursday that they presented their plans to the Town of Harpswell, which currently owns the site. Before the project can move forward, the town must vote to lease a site to the project developers.

The companies asked the Town Selectmen last Thursday evening to initiate a detailed public review of the project and to schedule a town meeting vote for a series of ballot initiatives that would allow Fairwinds to proceed. Project officials also launched a detailed public information program to inform Harpswell residents and to solicit their views about Fairwinds.

“The significant revenues that would flow to the town from our tax and lease payments could provide substantial property tax relief for Harpswell residents and support other important town needs over the long term.” said Peter Micciche, the project’s stakeholder relations manager. In addition to substantial tax and lease payments, the companies have further proposed to contribute funds to support initiatives that will benefit the town. These initiatives include donating to the town another Harpswell property with coastal access and installing facilities to improve cellular communications in the area.

The proposed project would involve replacing and extending the existing wharf and jetty at the former Navy fuel depot site to allow LNG to be unloaded from ships into two specially designed, onshore tanks. The location offers a natural deep-water navigation route and turning basin, which will avoid the need for dredging.

The LNG would be regasified and then delivered through a new pipeline that would connect the terminal with the existing pipeline grid. The daily throughput at commencement of commercial operations is anticipated to be 500 MMcf/d.

The proposed terminal will use about 70 acres of the 118-acre site, the companies said. A rigorous regulatory approval process for the project is expected to take two years. Construction could begin by 2006, with the facility operational by 2009.

TransCanada CEO Hal Kvisle said the company estimates that gas demand in North America will exceed traditional supply by the end of the decade. “Alternative supplies including Northern gas and LNG imports are going to be needed by the market and we expect to play a role in fulfilling that need,” he said.

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