Dominion starts construction at Cove Point LNG export project

Dominion said it has begun construction-related activities for the Cove Point LNG export project.

“This is a historic event for Dominion, Maryland and the nation,” said Diane Leopold, president of the company’s Dominion Energy business unit. “The Cove Point LNG export project will help meet the world’s need to move toward cleaner fuels. At the same time, it will provide significant economic benefits in terms of thousands of construction jobs, hundreds of millions of dollars in new tax revenues over the life of the facility, and an outlet for some of the nation’s surplus natural gas supplies.”

Leopold noted that the project underwent a comprehensive three-year regulatory review and approval process designed to ensure the project meets all safety, environmental and other requirements. Numerous federal, state and local agencies as well as thousands of private citizens participated in the process. More than 60 approvals and permits were required before construction could begin.

“The Cove Point facility has been on the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay as an LNG import terminal for nearly 40 years,” she said. “While we are making a substantial investment to add export capabilities, we intend to keep unchanged our commitment to being a good neighbor and responsible steward of the environment.”

Construction activities have begun at the LNG terminal with initial preparations for worksite clearing and grading. Activities were initiated earlier this month at two off-site locations, a temporary pier being built on the Pautuxent River to receive barge shipments of large equipment and a temporary location for offices, material staging and parking for project construction workers.

The Cove Point LNG export project is estimated to cost between $3.4 billion and $3.8 billion.

The proposed export facility will be within the 131-acre footprint of the existing LNG terminal site. No new pipelines or storage tanks are needed at the facility. It is targeted to begin operations in late 2017.

Dominion has fully subscribed the marketed capacity of the project with 20-year service agreements with ST Cove Point, a joint venture of Sumitomo Corporation, Tokyo Gas and GAIL Global (USA) LNG.

IHI/Kiewit Cove Point, a joint venture between IHI E&C International Corporation of Houston and Kiewit Corporation of Omaha, Nebraska, is the engineering, procurement and construction contractor for the new liquefaction facilities.

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Press Release; Image: Dominion