http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=f4395ee2-a a12-4389-b9d9-4022c0f4442a Gaz Metro reveals site Liquefied natural-gas terminal near Levis. Calgary-based pipeline operator Enbridge and Gaz de France are partners in project NICOLAS VAN PRAET The Gazette, Thursday, May 06, 2004 Gaz Metro Limited Partnership, Quebec's largest natural-gas distributor, confirmed yesterday it picked an area near Levis on Quebec City's south shore for the site of a new liquefied natural-gas terminal it is building with partners, but said ownership of the project has not yet been determined. The Montreal company revealed the information as it reported a slight increase in second-quarter earnings to $106.9 million, or 93 cents per unit. That's up from $100.1 million, or 91 cents per unit, for the corresponding period last year. Revenue for the three months ended March 31, 2004, rose to $712 million from $704 million. The LNG terminal project, dubbed Rabaska, is a partnership between Gaz Metro, Calgary-based pipeline operator Enbridge Inc. and Gaz de France, which has developed LNG technology and has stakes in liquefied natural-gas terminals in France and around the world. Liquefied natural-gas tankers would move supercold gas from a producer region such as North Africa to the terminal along the St. Lawrence River. The LNG would then be stored and revaporized before being pumped into a pipeline for distribution. Gaz Metro is making the move to diversify the sources of its natural gas. Right now, all of its gas is pumped in from Alberta. The terminal is expected to be operational by 2008, following consultations with residents and other key players over the next two years, said Pierre Despars, vice-president of finance and corporate affairs for Gaz Metro. Partners in the $700-million project have not yet decided ownership interest, Despars said. "We are negotiating the partnership element and the risk that will be taken by each partner in the project." Despars said Gaz de France will be the main customer of the terminal and sell the gas in turn to Gaz Metro, Enbridge, and other potential industrial clients in the northeastern United States or elsewhere. Enbridge owns and runs Canada's biggest natural-gas distribution company, Enbridge Gas Distribution, which provides gas to industrial, commercial and residential customers in Ontario, Quebec and New York state. Gaz Metro delivers about 97 per cent of all natural gas consumed in Quebec and distributes gas in Vermont. It employs 1,500 workers. nvanpraet@thegazette.canwest.com
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