DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
General Electric Co. (GE) said it will pay $150 million for a
share in a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal under
construction in Mississippi.
The terminal is expected to increase already swollen natural-gas
supplies to the eastern U.S. As a result, numerous plans for LNG
terminals have been shelved for the time being as natural gas
prices have plunged in the U.S. during the past two years.
GE's energy financial-services unit will buy the 30% interest of
Houston-based investor Crest Group in the $1.1 billion Gulf LNG
Energy terminal, which expected to be completed late next year. The
other owners in the facility are El Paso Corp. (EP), which is
managing construction and which will operate the facility, and
Sonangol, Angola's state-owned national oil company. El Paso's
stake is 50%.
The terminal's capacity has already been contracted out for 20
years to what was called Wednesday "major oil and gas
companies."
The facility, in Pascagoula, Miss., on the Gulf Coast, will
receive, store and turn back into gas imported LNG, natural gas in
a liquid form that has been cooled to minus-259 degrees. The liquid
is warmed and returned to gas form.
Dan Castagnola, a managing director of GE Energy Financial
Services in Houston, said the deal "complements our investment in
U.S. natural gas pipelines--30,000 miles of pipelines in North
America--that help ensure a steady supply of clean, efficient
energy."
GE's shares recently traded at $18.17, down 13 cents.
-By Kathy Shwiff, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2357;
Kathy.Shwiff@dowjones.com