LNG: A GOOD INVESTMENT?

Merrill Lynch to invest in liquid natural gas plant
Angela MacDonald-Smith, November 21, 2006 (Bloomberg News via International Herald Tribune)
- Merrill Lynch, the world's largest brokerage firm, plans to invest in liquefied natural gas production plants as the United States and Europe import more of the fuel…

- Merrill Lynch is considering investing in plants in countries like Papua New Guinea…The company earlier this year bought capacity at a Sempra Energy liquefied natural gas import terminal being built in Louisiana, owns capacity at a British terminal and is studying another liquefied natural gas port in Europe.
- Merrill Lynch is among investors positioning themselves for increased trading in liquefied natural gas, or LNG…Sempra, Exxon Mobil and other companies are building enough terminal capacity to double imports into the United States, where domestic production has failed to keep pace with demand…
- Merrill Lynch handles about 5 percent of all physical natural gas volumes traded in the United States, about 7 percent of financial volumes and controls about 8 percent of U.S. storage…

- Liquefied natural gas is natural gas that has been chilled to liquid form, reducing it to one-six-hundredth of its original volume, for transportation by ship to destinations not connected by pipeline. On arrival, it is turned back into gas for distribution to power plants, factories and households.
- Merrill wants to build its liquefied natural gas business to take advantage in trading of price differences between natural gas and oil, and between liquefied natural gas markets in the Atlantic and the Pacific regions…Financing for Merrill's Papua New Guinea project is scheduled to be in place by the third quarter of 2008, with the first deliveries scheduled for the second half of 2011…Merrill Lynch in March signed a 15- year agreement to import as much as 500 million cubic feet, or 14 million cubic meters, of gas a day at the liquefied natural gas terminal near Lake Charles…