FERC on Tuesday gave Trunkline LNG Co. LLC a three-month extension of the deadline to complete and place in service the Phase I expansion of its existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Lake Charles, LA.

In requesting an extension to March 31, 2006, Trunkline LNG told FERC that Hurricanes Katrina and Rita had caused a delay in the completion of the project, which was initially scheduled for Jan. 1, 2006.

Trunkline’s Phase I expansion of the Lake Charles terminal would double the sendout capacity of the facility to 1.2 Bcf/d and expand terminal storage capacity to 9 Bcf from 6.3 Bcf. FERC approved the Phase I project in 2003 [CP02-60].

The Phase II terminal expansion and associated pipeline, which FERC approved in September 2004, would boost the sendout capacity from the terminal by an incremental 50% to 1.8 Bcf/d on a sustained basis, with a peak of 2.1 Bcf/d. The additional capacity would be fully contracted to BG LNG under an agreement expiring in 2023. BG LNG also has signed a long-term agreement for transportation capacity on the new pipeline facilities. Trunkline LNG has estimated the Phase II terminal expansion will take 27 months to complete.

Both Trunkline LNG and Trunkline Gas, which will build a 23-mile, 30-inch pipeline loop as part of Phase II, are subsidiaries of Wilkes Barre, PA-based Southern Union.

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