The Elba Island LNG terminal has 1.8 billion cubic feet (bcf) per day of send-out capacity and 7.3bcf of storage capacity, which is expected to increase to 11.5bcf following the commissioning of a new storage tank this summer.
The terminal is fully-contracted under agreements with subsidiaries of Shell Oil (Shell) and BG Energy (BG) with an average life of more than 20 years. BG has an option to further expand the terminal to 15.7bcf of storage and 2.1bcf per day of peak send-out capacity.
Elba Express owns an approximately 190-mile interstate natural gas pipeline with current capacity of 945 million cubic feet (mmcf) per day that is subscribed with a subsidiary of Shell for 30 years. The pipeline provides natural gas transportation capacity from Elba Island to markets in Georgia, and through interconnections with other pipelines, to the Southeastern and Eastern US.
A subsidiary of BG has contracted under a 25-year contract for a $30m compression expansion of the pipeline that will increase the capacity up to 1,165mmcf per day and could be in-service by January 2014.
Jim Yardley, president and chief executive of El Paso Pipeline Partners, said: “We are delighted to announce the partnership’s largest acquisition to date. The addition of the Elba Island LNG terminal and the Elba Express Pipeline broadens the partnership’s asset base with two high-quality assets.
“Almost all of the total revenues from Elba and Elba Express come from monthly demand charges, making them a perfect fit with our partnership’s existing steady cash flow profile. In addition, these cash flows are supported by long-term contracts with two of the LNG industry’s leading participants.”
