Press release from Business Wire
Shell and Kinder Morgan Announce Plans to Export LNG from the United States
Monday, January 28, 2013
Shell and Kinder Morgan Announce Plans to Export LNG from the United States08:05 EST Monday, January 28, 2013
HOUSTON (Business Wire) -- Shell US Gas & Power LLC (Shell), a subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc,
and Southern Liquefaction Company, LLC, a Kinder Morgan company and unit
of El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB), today announced their
intent to form a limited liability company to develop a natural gas
liquefaction plant in two phases at Southern LNG Company, LLC's
(Southern LNG) existing Elba Island LNG Terminal, near Savannah, Ga.
Subject to various corporate and regulatory approvals, Shell and Kinder
Morgan affiliates have agreed to modify EPB's Elba Express Pipeline and
Elba Island LNG Terminal to physically transport natural gas to the
terminal and to load the liquefied natural gas (LNG) onto ships for
export.
“Kinder Morgan is delighted to be working with Shell at Elba Island on
this project, which has already received Free Trade Agreement approval,”
said Kinder Morgan Chairman and CEO Richard D. Kinder. “This project
will facilitate further development of the abundant natural gas
resources in the United States and will be a positive factor in the
overall balance of trade between the U.S. and other countries.” Kinder
added that the facility anticipates receiving non-Free Trade Agreement
approval in due course.
“This announcement underscores how the abundance of natural gas in the
U.S. is changing the energy landscape,” said Marvin Odum, President of
Shell Oil Company. “With a measured, phased approach, exports of cleaner
burning natural gas can help meet the world's rising energy needs while
also giving a boost to the U.S. economy.”
Once finalized, EPB, through its affiliates, will own 51 percent of the
entity and operate the facility. Shell, through its affiliates, will own
the remaining 49 percent and subscribe to 100 percent of the
liquefaction capacity. The project will use Shell's innovative
small-scale liquefaction unit, which will be integrated with the
existing Elba Island facility and enable rapid construction compared to
traditional large-scale plants.
The total project is expected to have liquefaction capacity of
approximately 2.5 million tonnes per year (mtpa) of LNG or 350 million
cubic feet of gas per day (Mmcfd). In June 2012, the Elba Island
terminal received approval from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to
export up to 4 mtpa (500 Mmcfd) of LNG to Free Trade Agreement (FTA)
countries. In August 2012, the terminal submitted a filing to the DOE
seeking approval to export up to 4 mtpa (500 Mmcfd) of LNG to non-FTA
countries. Phase I of the project, approximately 1.5 mtpa (210 Mmcfd),
requires no additional DOE approval.
This project combines Shell's LNG leadership–from innovative technology
to a vast global LNG portfolio and unrivaled access to strategic markets
around the world–with Kinder Morgan's unparalleled portfolio of U.S.
natural gas assets and industry expertise.
As an integrated energy company, Shell has an array of long-term options
for natural gas that will broaden the energy mix. This includes
extracting ethane and other natural gas liquids for petrochemicals
production; shipping solutions for LNG; and proprietary gas-to-liquids
technology to produce fuels, lubricants and chemicals.
El Paso Pipeline Partners (NYSE: EPB) is a publicly traded pipeline
limited partnership. It owns an interest in or operates more than 13,000
miles of interstate natural gas transportation pipelines in the Rockies
and the Southeast, natural gas storage facilities with a capacity of
nearly 100 billion cubic feet and LNG assets in Georgia. The general
partner of EPB is owned by Kinder Morgan, Inc. (NYSE: KMI). Kinder
Morgan is the largest midstream and the third largest energy company in
North America with a combined enterprise value of approximately $100
billion. It owns an interest in or operates approximately 75,000 miles
of pipelines and 180 terminals. Its pipelines transport natural gas,
gasoline, crude oil, CO2 and other products, and its
terminals store petroleum products and chemicals and handle such
products as ethanol, coal, petroleum coke and steel. KMI owns the
general partner interest of Kinder Morgan Energy Partners, L.P. (NYSE:
KMP) and El Paso Pipeline Partners, L.P. (NYSE: EPB), along with limited
partner interests in KMP and EPB and shares in Kinder Morgan Management,
LLC (NYSE: KMR). For more information please visit www.kindermorgan.com
and www.eppipelinepartners.com.
This news release includes forward-looking statements. These
forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and
are based on the beliefs and assumptions of management, based on
information currently available to them. Although EPB believes that
these forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it
can give no assurance that such assumptions will materialize. Important
factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those
in the forward-looking statements herein include those enumerated in
EPB's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they were made, and
except to the extent required by law, EPB undertakes no obligation to
update or review any forward-looking statement because of new
information, future events or other factors. Because of these
uncertainties, readers should not place undue reliance on these
forward-looking statements.
El Paso Pipeline PartnersRichard Wheatley, (713) 420-6828Media
Relationsrichard_wheatley@kindermorgan.comwww.eppipelinepartners.comorPeter
Staples, (713) 369-9221Investor Relationspeter_staples@kindermorgan.comwww.kindermorgan.com
