ConocoPhillips joins Freeport LNG terminal project partners

ConocoPhillips has agreed to join with Freeport LNG Development LP and assume a 50 % general-partnership managing interest in the proposed LNG receiving terminal at Quintana, southeast of Freeport in Brazoria County, Texas. ConocoPhillips said it would provide "a significant portion of construction funding," assume responsibility for construction management and facility operation, and acquire 1 bn cfpd of regasification capacity in the terminal for its use.
However, it added: "The management of Freeport LNG Development will remain in place, continuing to be responsible for commercial activities and customer interface for the remaining capacity in the facility."

Michael S. Smith, current 100 % general partner, is Freeport LNG Development chairman and CEO. Limited partners include Cheniere Energy and Contango Oil & Gas, both of Houston.
The terminal will be designed with a storage capacity of 6.9 bn cf and a send-out capacity of 1.5 bn cfpd. Natural gas will be transported through a 9.4 mile pipeline to Stratton Ridge, Texas, a major hub within the Texas intrastate gas pipeline system. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to approve the project in first quarter 2004, ConocoPhillips said, with all other necessary federal, state, and local approvals to follow shortly thereafter.

Technip USA, Houston, is underway with the front-end engineering and design study, which it expects to complete in January. Construction is scheduled to begin in second half 2004, with commercial start-up in mid-2007.
Earlier this summer, Freeport LNG concluded an agreement with Dow Chemical to build the terminal on its Quintana Island site. Under that agreement, Dow will have processing rights for 500 mm cfpd of LNG for use in Dow's Gulf Coast petrochemical facilities.