Offshore staff

HOUSTON -- The US Maritime Administration has issued a deepwater port license to Suez Energy North America subsidiary Neptune LNG LLC to build, own, and operate the Neptune LNG port in Massachusetts Bay.

The project will consist of a buoy system in federal waters 35 km (22 mi) northeast of Boston where LNG vessels will moor and discharge re-vaporized LNG, or natural gas, into the existing Algonquin pipeline system's HubLine to customers in New England.

Demand for natural gas from power generators and residential consumers in New England is expected to increase by 1 to 2% per year over the next two decades, with Massachusetts alone accounting for half of the region's natural gas consumption.

At this rate of growth, the region could face a shortage of natural gas supply of 500 MMcf/d in 2010. The Neptune project will provide 400 to 750 MMcf/d of natural gas - enough to serve 1.5 to 3 million homes daily.

The project is expected to be operational in 2009.

2/1/2007