BOSTON, Aug. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- SUEZ LNG NA LLC announced today that it has received all necessary permits from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to begin construction of the buoy system and pipeline connection for the Neptune Deepwater Port facility, the company's offshore LNG terminal to be located approximately 10 miles off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Having secured these permits, the company also announced that it has entered into three major contracts necessary for the construction of these components of the project in Massachusetts Bay.
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This week, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) granted the Chapter 91 License for the Neptune terminal, which this month also received its Water Quality Certification from DEP and its Coastal Zone Management Consistency Certification from the Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management Office.
"This is the culmination of three years of intensive work with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and we are very pleased with the partnership we have developed with the State," said Clay Harris, president and CEO of SUEZ LNG NA. "Over the next couple of months, we look forward to finalizing the last of the federal environmental permits that follow these from the State in order to bring Neptune on-line and expand our service to meet the growing demand for natural gas in the region in 2009."
"For more than 35 years, SUEZ has demonstrated its commitment and ability to serve the New England market through the Everett LNG import terminal. Now, through Neptune, we are on track to providing a substantial new inflow of LNG for decades to come," said Zin Smati, president and CEO of SUEZ Energy North America.
SUEZ recently executed three contracts exceeding $10 million that mark major investments to bring Neptune on line.
-- SUEZ selected an Owner's Engineer, executing a contract with Det Norske
Veritas (DNV), a Norwegian company that is a recognized global leader
in risk management and maritime industries.
-- SUEZ hired INTEC Engineering, a world leader in deepwater technology,
to design the 11-mile sub-sea pipeline lateral that will connect the
Neptune terminal to the existing HubLine(SM) pipeline spanning
Massachusetts Bay. SUEZ executed a contract with INTEC and work has
already commenced.
-- SUEZ engaged Seaforth Engineering, a global marine engineering and
renewable energy technology company, to conduct geotechnical surveys
for the Neptune mooring anchor. Work on this contract will be
performed in August 2007 and will include deep core borings to define
special site conditions at the anchor location.
Engineering and construction of the specially designed Shuttle and Regasification Vessels (SRVs) that will serve the Neptune terminal are currently on schedule at the Samsung Heavy Industries Shipyard in South Korea. SUEZ and its technology partner Hoegh LNG of Norway commissioned these vessels, the most advanced of their kind and able to meet environmental conditions among the most stringent in the world, for delivery in 2009. In addition, SUEZ anticipates executing a contract for the purchase of the buoy system within the next several weeks.
About the Company
SUEZ LNG NA LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of SUEZ Energy North America, Inc., the Houston-based business unit of SUEZ Energy International responsible for managing SUEZ's positions within the energy value chain in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, including electricity generation and cogeneration, natural gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG), asset-based trading and origination, and retail energy sales and related services to commercial and industrial customers.
SUEZ Energy North America owns and/or operates a total of 45 power, cogeneration, steam, and chilled-water facilities, including those in construction or development, representing a capacity of more than 5,538 MW of electricity generation, 6.4 million pounds per hour of steam, and 61,749 tons per hour of chilled water. SUEZ Energy North America's wholly owned subsidiary, Distrigas of Massachusetts LLC, owns and operates an LNG receiving terminal in Everett, Mass., which began operations in 1971 and currently serves most of the gas utilities in New England and key power producers, meeting approximately 20 percent of New England's annual gas demand. In addition, SUEZ Energy North America has two LNG deepwater port projects under development off the coasts of Massachusetts and Florida.
SUEZ Energy International is a business line of SUEZ , which is an international industrial and services Group that employs 140,000 people worldwide.
For more information about these companies and their activities, please visit the following Web sites:
SUEZ: http://www.suez.com/
SUEZ Energy International: http://www.suezenergyint.com/
SUEZ Energy North America: http://www.suezenergyna.com/
Neptune project information: http://www.neptunelng.com/
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