Regional LNG: Sempra mulls expanding Mexico LNG terminal

Sempra Energy, owner of the largest U.S. natural-gas utility, plans to gauge whether there's enough demand from fuel marketers to justify expanding the gas-import terminal the company is building on Mexico's Pacific coast, agency reported.

The so-called open season, expected early this year, will test demand from marketers that would sell imported gas to such end users as U.S. utilities, Sempra executive Darcel Hulse said Monday at an energy conference in Houston. The $800 million plant currently is designed to import 1 billion cubic feet of liquefied natural gas, known as LNG, each day.

``We could easily expand the facility to 2.5 billion cubic feet,'' Hulse, president of Sempra's LNG business, said in an interview after speaking at the conference. ``The purpose of the open season is to find out'' how much capacity is merited.

Sempra will import LNG from BP-operated Tangguh LNG plant starting 2008. (*)