Projects

LNGGNL Quintero Country Strategic Project Inaugurated

The GNL Quintero project was inaugurated with the presence of President Michelle Bachelet, ministers of state, Chilean and international businessmen and national, regional and communal authorities, executives of various companies and the country’s business associations, plus all the union leaders of ENAP, community representatives and those of the organized groups of the town of Quintero,

The ceremony opened with the words of the chief executive of GNL Quintero, Antonio Bacigalupo, who acknowledged the vision of the former President Ricardo Lagos and the leadership capacity of ENAP, with the firm support of the government, in completing this mega-project which is an example in Chile of what a public-private sector alliance should be.

The mayor of Quintero, José Varas, summarized the landmarks that this project had for the town of Quintero and specifically referred to former President Lagos “who had the mission of becoming involved in seeking an energy solution for converting Quintero, with the later support of President Bachelet, in the energy capital of Chile”.

Bachelet: “We are witnessing a transcendental moment in terms of energy”.

“I come here to celebrate great news for Chile. With propriety, I want to say that we are witnessing a transcendental moment in terms of energy. The LNG plant is the most potent sign of how Chile was capable of taking advantage of the energy crisis of 2008 to carry out an unprecedented solution in Chilean energy policy”.

The president Michele Bachelet took part in the ceremony with special warmth and acknowledged the role of former President Lagos, through ENAP, for carrying out this immense task, which shows that interaction between public and private-sector companies is possible.

“LNG has thus become the best demonstration of how the state should act and how to face critical situations. It can never avoid facing tasks, however large or complex, through public-sector companies in firm alliance with private-sector companies”.

The head of state explicitly acknowledged not only the collaboration of Ricardo Lagos but also of the former minister of mining and energy, Karen Poniachik, the former chief executives of ENAP, Daniel Fernández and Enrique Dávila, the present chief executive, Rodrigo Azócar, and all the personnel of ENAP, represented by Jorge Matute.

“We said that we wanted a diversified and sustainable energy matrix and here we are, providing Chile with a long-term solution which will undoubtedly expedite our development as a country”, she maintained.

President Bachelet added that “we are noting the wisdom of having done things well and how the country is already benefiting with this safe energy matrix which will clearly and categorically contribute to the development of an extraordinarily important sector like energy. There are abundant reasons for being happy because a great task has materialized in Quintero”.

“Chile will never be the same with LNG”

The minister of energy, Marcelo Tokman, said that “October 2009 will be remembered as a month of excellent news for the country, not only in the sporting field but also in the energy area because the LNG will place us in a superior stadium within Chile’s process of economic reactivation”.

The secretary of state admitted that “it is an example that a public-sector company like ENAP has brought this project to reality, together with well-reputed private-sector companies like BG Group, Endesa Chile and Metrogas”.

Satisfaction for ENAP

The chief executive of ENAP, Rodrigo Azócar, emphasized that for all the company’s personnel and executives “the LNG project is one of pride because our company has been capable of leading this country project since 2004, which will provide energy security to Chile in the supply of natural gas which will contribute to diversifying the energy matrix”.

Rodrigo Azócar said that between August and October this year, ENAP has begun to consume 620,000 m3 per day of natural gas at the Aconcagua refinery in Concón. “At the same time, through Energas, we have supplied Codelco Ventanas with 200,000 m3 per day, and 280,000 m3 have been used to supply residential and commercial consumption in the Fifth Region, plus also the requirements of the industrial customers connected to the distribution network”.

ENAP’s chief executive said that the arrival of LNG has helped to reduce emissions of pollutants, as a result of the replacement of diesel and other fuels by natural gas.

For ENAP, the inauguration of the LNG project was undoubtedly one a great satisfaction. The public appreciation of this historic project which the company has been involved in since 2004 was evidently a just recognition of the efforts of its personnel and executives in this mega-initiative.

Investment, benefits and advantages of LNG

The terminal will cost US$1,066 million. The early phase was inaugurated today; in the winter of 2010 the works will be completed with the rest of the tanks.

This project, which was led by ENAP and the consortium comprising BG Group (with a 40% holding), Endesa (20%) and Metrogas (20%), was entrusted to ENAP by the state of Chile on May 6, 2004. It will permit the diversification of the national energy matrix and provide independence in the supply of natural gas in the country.

The LNG project will bring large benefits: a stable and safe supply of liquefied natural gas for thermal electricity plants, industry and the residential sector of central Chile and eventually the rest of the country. It will also improve the air quality in the Metropolitan Region and in the central zone itself.

The LNG terminal is the largest project carried out in Chile and has already started operating in an early stage, being the first of its kind in South America. It includes a mooring facility 1,878 meters in length, 5 unloading arms and steam return, two 160,000 m3 tanks and another of 14,000 m3 which will be the first to start operating for the storage of LNG.

Since it was conceived and entrusted to ENAP as a business model, it has tried to establish close links with the community of Quintero and, in this context, has performed works of great community interest in compensation. Some 4 thousand people were employed during this first construction period.

One of the great advantages of this product is the multiplicity of suppliers for the country. The arrival of LNG does not depend on a sole supplier because it can be sourced from Trinidad and Tobago, Equatorial Guinea, Egypt, Algeria, etc.

The GNL Quintero complex will process 2.5 million tons of LNG annually, producing some 10 million cubic meters a day of natural gas at base (and up to 15 MMm³/day at peak), which is injected into the pipeline network for distribution in the central zone.

In the world today, there are around 60 re-gasification and 28 liquefying plants. The global trend to LNG development is demonstrated by the 29 liquefying plants planned to date, mainly located in Africa and Asia Pacific, and more than 84 projected re-gasification plants, of which 64 are in North America.