Uncertainty still reigns as to the ultimate number of new North American liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminals that will be built, according to comments at a few conferences in Houston recently. About 40 projects have been proposed, and some of these have been withdrawn. But many companies say their projects could receive permits and construction may commence in the third quarter. At the Center for Business Intelligence's third annual LNG conference, Greg Bartholomew, vice president of gas strategies for Sempra Energy's LNG business, gave a status report on three of Sempra's projects-the Costa Azul, Cameron and Port Arthur terminals. Construction may begin on two of these this year. Costa Azul-a joint venture with Shell-is Sempra's entry in the race to build a terminal in Baja California. Sempra received various permits last year-including its local land-use permit in August-and is now taking bids for an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. Construction is slated to begin in the third quarter, and commercial operations are to begin in third-quarter 2007, Bartholomew said. Supply and capacity agreements are expected soon. The terminal would have send-out capacity of 1 billion cubic feet (Bcf) a day. The capital cost is estimated at $600 million. Baja has been viewed by some as an easier siting target than California for West Coast LNG. However, Mexico is just as concerned about siting issues as California is, Bartholomew said. Earlier this year, the Baja government expropriated the proposed site of a Marathon Oil LNG terminal for public development projects. However, Mexico is reliant on the U.S. for gas supply, and an LNG terminal in Baja assures low-cost gas supply for Mexico, and the excess can be sold into the U.S., he added. Sempra has a similar timeline for its Cameron LNG project in Louisiana-it's taking bids for an EPC contractor to begin construction in the third quarter, with commercial operations expected in third-quarter 2007. Final Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approval was granted in October 2003, and an initial supply agreement is expected soon, Bartholomew said. Sempra purchased the Cameron project from Dynegy-which had named the plan its Hackberry project. It would have send-out capacity of 1.5 Bcf a day and will cost $700 million, all told. Some observers fear that the Gulf Coast gas market will be saturated by LNG supply, but Bartholomew said the "shocking" decline rate of conventional Gulf Coast gas production assures that there will be room for LNG supplies. The Port Arthur, Texas, terminal is Sempra's latest proposal. Announced April 21, it has a price tag of $600 million, and would be able to process 1.5 Bcf a day initially. Construction is expected in 2006 with start-up estimated for 2009. The facility would be constructed on part of a 3,000-acre parcel of land along the Port Arthur Ship Canal. The site has been owned by Sempra Energy since 1989. Port Arthur is the proposed site for two other LNG receiving terminals-by ExxonMobil and by Cheniere Energy. Bartholomew would not speculate on the chance of success for one terminal versus the other two, or whether the market could support multiple terminals at one port. However, he noted that community support is strong for Sempra's project as Sempra has agreed to pay to relocate Highway 87-a flood-prone road that leads to Sabine Pass. The community has wanted to move this road, but shied away from the project due to its price tag, Bartholomew said. Thomas E. Giles, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Sound Energy Solutions, updated the conference on his company's efforts to build a terminal at the Port of Long Beach in California. Sound Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Corp. The proposed project would supply about 10% of California's natural gas market, Giles said. The FERC certification process is anticipated to be completed this fall, with construction to begin immediately afterward. Commercial operations would begin in 2008, he said. California is seen as the toughest place in which to get an LNG terminal sited, but Giles is optimistic about the site, which is in an industrial area. "It's going to be sited in an industrial port if it's going to be sited in California," Giles said. Other terminals expected to receive permits and begin construction in 2004 are the Freeport LNG project in Texas, by Freeport LNG Development LP, and the Weaver's Cove Energy LLC project in Fall River, Massachusetts. The Freeport project, owned by Michael S. Smith, Cheniere Energy and Contango Oil & Gas, expects to receive its regulatory permits, including FERC approval, in 2004. LNG imports would begin in 2007. The terminal would be capable of processing 1.5 Bcf per day, initially. Weaver's Cove hopes to have its permit this year, with imports to begin in 2007. Vaporization capacity would average 400,000 million cubic feet (MMcf) a day. One LNG project has already received all of its permits and is currently under construction-the offshore Energy Bridge plan-Rob Bryngelson, senior vice president of Excelerate Energy, said at Ziff Energy Group's North American Gas Strategies Conference. Energy Bridge, which Excelerate is developing along with El Paso, is a floating LNG regasification facility. The first ship is expected to be completed in November, and begin delivering gas to the Gulf of Mexico in January 2005. Baseload capacity will be 500 MMcf per day, and it will be connected to the existing gathering systems Sea Robin and Blue Water, Bryngelson said. A second ship is expected to be completed in April 2005, and the companies committed recently to build a third ship, he said. -Jodi Wetuski