Oxy slows plan to build LNG terminal in Texas

Fuente: KPLCTV

HOUSTON (Reuters) - A unit of Occidental Chemical Co. (OXY.N) has pushed back planned construction of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Corpus Christi, Texas, a company spokeswoman said Friday.

The schedule calling for start-up of Ingleside Energy Center in 2008 is now "to be determined," spokeswoman Jan Sieving said. "We're working through some commercial issues."

The decision was made in January, she said.

Ingleside, intended to unload LNG from ships, regasify it and ship as much as 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day, is still licensed by the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Sieving said.

Forecasts for declining U.S. gas production and expected high prices for imported LNG triggered more than 40 proposals for new terminals after 2000. Recent shifts in the market have slowed growth.

One new U.S. terminal has opened offshore in the Gulf of Mexico. Five others are under construction along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Twenty others have been approved by various U.S. agencies but have not started construction.

Another new terminal has opened on the Mexican Gulf Coast. Others are under construction in eastern Canada and western Mexico.