NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A liquefied natural gas terminal in Louisiana has been approved to export natural gas.
Federal Energy Department records show that Lake Charles Exports LLC was granted authority on July 22 to export domestic natural gas from its Lake Charles terminal to countries that the U.S. has free trade agreements for gas. The Energy Department is still considering whether to allow exports to countries not covered by the pacts.
Lake Charles Exports LLC is a subsidiary of Houston-based Southern Union Co., a natural gas pipeline company, and BG Group, a Great Britain-based natural gas company.
A spokesman for Southern Union did not return a call for comment Thursday.
The Energy Department decision said Lake Charles Exports could export up to 2 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day for 25 years. The terminal was authorized for imported LNG in the late 1970s and construction was completed in 1981. According to the agency document, the company plans to modify the terminal to handle exports.
In May, Cheniere Energy Partners, based in Houston, was given federal approval to export up to 803 billion cubic feet of gas a year from its Sabine Pass LNG terminal in southwestern Louisiana. It was the first such export permit granted for the lower 48 states.
Cheniere has been approved for exports to countries with and without free-trade agreements with the United States.
Exported gas will be carried on tankers after being chilled to super-low temperatures to become liquefied natural gas, which makes it easier to transport by ship. The terminals were originally built to import LNG, but increased attention has recently shifted to exporting part of the huge gas deposits found in U.S. shale formations.
According to the Energy Department, the United States currently has free trade agreements covering natural gas with Australia, Bahrain, Singapore, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Chile, Morocco, Canada, Mexico, Oman, Peru and Jordan.
Southern Union recently agreed to be acquired by Dallas-based Energy Transfer Equity for $5.7 billion.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/La-terminal-approved-for-apf-556902978.html?x=0
