LNG in the pipeline

From the Western Telegraph, first published Wednesday 18th Aug 2004.

Pembrokeshire could be processing one fifth of the UK's gas needs by the end of 2007. The supplies will be in the form of imported liquefied natural gas brought from Asia and the Middle East.

And with cheaper industrial gas in the pipeline, the county's economy could be in for a major boost.

The announcement was made last week that Centrica, which owns British Gas, had signed a £4billion deal to bring liquefied natural gas through the proposed Petroplus terminal at Waterston.

The supply will be provided by the Asean LNG trading company, a subsidiary of the Malaysian state-owned oil and gas giant, Petronas.

The deal confirms the development of the £250m Dragon LNG terminal, jointly owned by British Gas, Petronas and Petroplus.

It will bring 700 construction jobs and 30 permanent jobs to the county.

Derek Lloyd, Petroplus spokesman, said: "This is an important milestone for the project and the next significant step forward will be the awarding of the engineering procurement and construction contract in September, with work starting in the autumn."

An even larger project will take place at South Hook, the former Esso refinery site at Milford Haven, with LNG being imported from Qatar.

Transco will now build an £80m extension to its gas pipeline from Swansea to Pembrokeshire.

Both projects could be the catalyst for the development of a new LNG gas-fired power station on the former power station site.

David Eglinton, for the South Hook development, said the formal decision to proceed with this project will be taken by project sponsors, Qatar Petroleum and ExxonMobil, by the end of this year.

"By the end of the decade the demand for natural gas in the UK will have increased and indigenous supplies will be in decline.

"Forecasters indicate that the UK will require significant imports of gas and so we believe the market will have demand for gas from the South Hook project."

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