Dominion Increases LNG Storage Capacity at Cove Point

Dominion

Dominion has placed a new liquefied natural gas storage tank in service at Dominion Cove Point in Maryland, increasing on-site storage from the equivalent of 5 billion cubic feet to 7.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas. The new tank holds 135,000 cubic meters of LNG, which is approximately equivalent to 2.8 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

"Increased storage gives shippers the added flexibility needed to reliably provide natural gas in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast year-round," said Thos. E. Capps, Dominion's chairman and chief executive officer. "I'm particularly proud that our staff was able to complete the project nearly three months ahead of schedule so we could provide service during the coming winter months."

The new tank is the final step in the re-commissioning and expansion of the import terminal undertaken by Dominion in 2003. In its first year of service, Dominion Cove Point delivered 187 billion cubic feet of natural gas.

Dominion has proposed an additional expansion of the facility scheduled for 2008, which would increase output capacity from 1 billion cubic feet per day to 1.8 billion cubic feet per day, and storage capacity from 7.8 billion cubic feet to 14.6 billion cubic feet.

LNG provides a safe and efficient way of transporting and storing natural gas, as it is stored at about minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit at near atmospheric pressure. The new tank has a 9 percent nickel steel inner tank surrounded by about four feet of insulation, which is contained by an outer steel tank. LNG is non-toxic, non-explosive and non-flammable in its liquid state and will burn only after it has been re-gasified and mixed in the proper proportion with air. Dominion Cove Point is one of four operating import facilities in the U.S., and the U.S. has the largest number of active LNG facilities in the world, with over 110 locations.

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