KeySpan Corp., the largest natural gas distributor in the Northeast, and BG LNG Services LLC (BGLS), the leading importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the United States, have announced a joint initiative to examine the feasibility of upgrading KeySpan’s existing LNG storage and receiving terminal in Providence’s Fields Point area off Allens Avenue. Pending approvals, the facility could be ready to accept marine deliveries by 2005.
KeySpan LNG, LLC owns and operates the 600,000-barrel FERC-regulated LNG storage and receiving facility in Providence, which it purchased from Duke Energy in 2002. The facility, KeySpan LNG, which completed major upgrades in 2000, currently provides LNG storage supplies to local gas utilities, including KeySpan Energy Delivery and New England Gas Company.
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Presently, the facility is filled each summer by tanker trucks from Boston. The proposed upgrades would allow those deliveries to be made by ship and would include infrastructure improvements that would allow the gas to be transported via the Algonquin Pipeline G-system.
KeySpan is anticipating an investment of more than $50 million to upgrade the site, construction of which is expected to add approximately 120 local jobs. Upon completion, 20 to 25 additional permanent jobs would be created at the facility. The operation of the upgraded facility would significantly enhance the region’s access to natural gas supplies.
“KeySpan is committed to increasing the reliability of the energy supply in the Northeast. With its increasing importance in the region’s energy needs, as well as its environmentally friendly properties, a competitive LNG market is vital,” said KeySpan Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert B. Catell in a release. “KeySpan sees this initiative with BGLS at the Providence facility as an investment in the future of the New England region and its growth and vitality, as well as a way of enhancing the overall reliability of the region’s energy supply,” he said.
Currently, LNG imports play a key role in serving New England’s natural gas supply needs, providing 10 to 15 percent of the region’s annual natural gas requirements and about 35 percent on peak use days during the heating season.
Martin Houston, BG Group’s executive vice president and managing director, North America, Caribbean and Global LNG said, “We look forward to working with KeySpan on this project which represents another step forward in developing our long-term Atlantic Basin LNG strategy.”
KeySpan and BGLS executives have been meeting with local public officials and community groups to brief them on the preliminary plans.
