Richmond, Va.-based Dominion Energy has signed two 20-year terminal service agreements with Japanese and Indian companies to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its proposed Dominion Cove Point liquefaction project in Maryland, the company announced.
GAIL Global LNG LLC, a U.S. affiliate of India based GAIL Ltd., and Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp. have each contracted for half of the $3.4 billion plant's capacity.
"Japan and India are important allies and trading partners of the United States that are in need of secure sources of natural gas, and Sumitomo and GAIL are high-quality companies working to meet those needs," said Thomas F. Farrell II, Dominion chairman, president and CEO. "We believe the agreements we have signed serve very important economic goals for all three nations."
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While the gas liquefied at Cove Point may be sourced from a wide variety of areas, Farrell noted that Cove Point — located on the Chesapeake Bay in Lusby, Md. — will be a premier facility in terms of direct access to the Marcellus and Utica shale plays, two of the most prolific natural gas basins in North America.
"No other proposed liquefaction facility can provide the strategic value in terms of supply and location," Farrell said. "We believe that having achieved these milestones of signed terminal service agreements, an EPC contract and our FERC filing, we are well positioned to obtain permission from the U.S. Department of Energy to move forward with this vital infrastructure project."
According to Dominion, up to 4,000 jobs would be produced in the state of Maryland during the construction phase. Benefits to the natural gas and other industries would support another 14,600 jobs once the facility enters service. The project would produce an estimated $9.8 billion in royalty payments to mineral owners over 25 years. And, about $1 billion annually of additional federal, state and local government revenues would be generated directly and indirectly.
