Dominion, Business Partners Celebrate Construction Of Cove Point Liquefaction Project

LUSBY, Md., March 25, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Dominion (NYSE: D), one of the nation's largest energy companies, today celebrated with its international business partners and Maryland community leaders the construction of the Dominion Cove Point LNG Liquefaction project. (View a video.)

Kenichiro Sasae, the Japanese ambassador to the United States, and Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan joined Dominion Chairman Thomas F. Farrell II at the ceremony, along with Diane Leopold, president, Dominion Energy; Kazuhiro Takeuchi, president, CEO, and general manager for the Americas, Sumitomo Corp of Americas; Jayanta Sinha, president, GAIL Global U.S.A., and Steven R. Weems, president, Calvert County Board of County Commissioners.

"Cove Point will supply critical American allies in India and Japan with much-needed natural gas that will help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions," said Farrell. "Although the doubters said it could not be done, in late 2017 our liquefier will be online, and ships will begin receiving LNG for export."

The Dominion Cove Point Liquefaction Project is a $3.4 billion - $3.8 billion project that will create thousands of skilled construction jobs, 75 permanent jobs and an additional $40 million in annual tax revenue to Calvert County. Construction-related activities started last October and operations are projected to begin in late 2017.

Dominion has fully subscribed the capacity of the project with 20-year service agreements with ST Cove Point, LLC, a joint venture of Sumitomo Corporation, a Japanese corporation that is one of the world's leading trading companies, and Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., a Japanese corporation that is the largest natural gas utility in Japan; and GAIL Global (USA) LNG LLC, a wholly owned indirect U.S. subsidiary of GAIL (India) Limited, one of the largest natural gas processing and distributing companies in India.

LNG transported from Cove Point can reduce global greenhouse emissions by millions of tons a year by replacing coal as the fuel for electricity generation. When completed in late 2017, Cove Point will produce about 5.25 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas annually for the two customers. The LNG shipments from Cove Point are projected to reduce the U.S. trade imbalance by at least $2.8 billion, and possibly as much as $7.1 billion, annually.

More than $1.2 million has been spent on the project in Calvert, St. Mary's and Charles counties in southern Maryland and more than $40 million in Maryland to date. Other economic benefits include millions of dollars of new revenues for Maryland and the federal government as well as a reduction in the nation's trade deficit by billions of dollars annually.

Dominion is one of the nation's largest producers and transporters of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 24,600 megawatts of generation, 12,400 miles of natural gas transmission, gathering and storage pipeline, and 6,455 miles of electric transmission lines.  Dominion operates one of the nation's largest natural gas storage systems with 949 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves utility and retail energy customers in 12 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's website at www.dom.com.

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SOURCE Dominion

For further information: Media: Karl Neddenien, mobile (804) 317-5267, Karl.R.Neddenien@dom.com