June 9, 2008

Enbridge plans liquefied natural gas plant in Quebec

Richard Gilbert

staff writer

A Calgary-based energy company is part of a joint venture that is entering the preliminary stage in the construction of a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Quebec, after securing a long-term gas source in Russia.

Enbridge Inc. and their partners Gaz Metro and Gaz de France announced last month that the company has signed a Letter of Intent with Gazprom Marketing & Trading USA, Inc., which outlines the terms under which Gazprom will become an equity partner in the proposed Rabaska liquefied natural gas (LNG) regasification project.

Under the agreement Gazprom has agreed to supply 500 million cubic feet per day to the $840-million terminal east of Quebec City.

The Rabaska terminal is expected to introduce a new source of natural gas supply to the Quebec and eastern Ontario markets.

“The Rabaska LNG project will deliver the critical infrastructure needed to bring an important new source of natural gas supply to Ontario and Quebec,” said Stephen J.J. Letwin, executive vice president, gas transportation and international for Enbridge.

“This new supply will benefit the two provinces’ growing number of natural gas consumers, many of whom are customers of Enbridge Gas Distribution, as well as support Ontario’s increasing emphasis on natural gas to fuel environmentally responsible power generation. Gazprom’s involvement in the Rabaska LNG project gives strong momentum to advancing this project and meeting those needs.”

Using the Rabaska terminal, Gazprom, which is a subsidiary of OAO Gazprom, expects to import Russian LNG supplied from the Shtokman liquefaction project.

The Shtokman gas and condensate field, discovered in 1988, is located in the central part of the Barents Sea, about 450 kilometers northeast of the city of Murmansk, Russia.

“We are a little ways away from construction of the plant at the moment,” said Jennifer Varey, manager of corporate communications at Enbridge.

“In terms of the announcement about the agreement, construction is dependent on the first anticipated shipments of gas from the Shtokman field, which is scheduled for 2014.”

Rabaska has already obtained the key federal and provincial government approvals to proceed with construction of the terminal in Levis, Quebec.

“We don’t have much detail on construction at the moment. These will come out when the financial agreement is signed with Gazprom,” said Simon Poitras, director of public relations at Rabaska.

“The signing of the agreement should happen by the end of the year.”

Poitras said construction is expected to start in 2010, with operation starting in 2014.

“All the seed engineering preparation for cost and the establishment of the project are being done,” said Poitras.

“We are preparing for construction, but we are not ready for construction.”

This preparation work, which involves all four partners, is being done at the Robaska office in Levis.

The Rabaska terminal is designed to be capable of receiving, storing and re-gasifying imported LNG with a nominal natural gas capacity of 500 million cubic feet per day.

OAO Gazprom is Russia’s largest company and the world’s biggest natural gas producer, with global and Russian proven gas reserves at about 17 per cent and more than 60 per cent, respectively.

Gazprom Marketing & Trading USA Inc. was formed in July 2006 to serve as the platform for entry into the North American market.

The company is the U.S. subsidiary of wholly owned Gazprom Marketing & Trading Ltd., a London-based company that was established in 1999 to manage Gazprom’s marketing and trading activities in liberalizing markets in Western Europe.

Quebec-based Gaz Metro is one of Canada’s largest natural gas distributors, with 1,300 employees and about 171,000 customers in Quebec

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