Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, has selected Matrix Service, a subsidiary of Matrix Service Company, to build its liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility in Robeson County, North Carolina.
Image: The construction of new LNG facility is expected to start in May 2019. Photo: Courtesy of Duke Energy Corporation.
The new facility is expected to have one billion-cubic-foot (Bcf) storage capacity and covers approximately 60 acres of a 685-acre piece of Piedmont-owned property located in Robeson County, approximately halfway between Maxton and Red Springs, in an area already zoned for heavy industrial use.
Piedmont Natural Gas will owns and operate the new LNG facility, which will be built with an investment of approximately $250m.
The facility is expected to help the company continue deliver its customers with a reliable supply of natural gas during peak usage days, when extremely low temperatures create a higher-than-normal demand for natural gas.
The construction of new LNG facility is expected to start in May 2019, and is estimated to be completed in the summer of 2021.
Duke Energy natural gas operations president Frank Yoho said: “Our highest priority is the safety of our natural gas infrastructure, our communities and our employees. The contractor we selected had to share our emphasis on safety, offer proven excellence in this specialized construction, and commit to minimize disruption to our neighbors in Robeson County.”
The new LNG facility is expected to create up to 150 jobs during construction and 10 to 12 permanent jobs to manage operations, in addition to the generation of more than $800,000 tax revenue annually to Robeson County.
Matrix Service Company president and chief executive officer John Hewitt said: “As an industry leader in low-temperature and cryogenic tanks and terminals, we are very pleased to have been awarded this important project. We look forward to delivering this project safely, on time and on budget.”
The LNG facility is expected to improve the reliability of the natural gas supply in the Carolina region, providing the capacity during the coldest days of the year.
Piedmont Natural Gas, a subsidiary of Duke Energy, is engaged in the distribution of natural gas to over one million residential, commercial and industrial customers in North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.