BP Announces Plans For US East Coast LNG Import Terminal

Release date: 04 December 2003

(New York, December 4 2003) BP today announced that it will begin the pre-filing process with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct and operate a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) terminal located on the Delaware River in the state of New Jersey with first gas targeted for 2008.

The proposed Crown Landing LNG facility will be owned and operated by BP with LNG sourced principally from Trinidad & Tobago where BP is the largest natural gas producer. LNG could also come from other supply sources within the BP global LNG portfolio.

Crown Landing LNG will have a daily send-out capacity of 1.2 billion cubic feet and a short-term peaking capability of up to 1.4bcf/d. Facilities will include three 150,000 cubic meter (3.5bcf) storage tanks with nitrogen injection for blending and flexibility; and a pier designed to dock ships with capacities of up to 200,000m3. The terminal will be able to connect to major pipeline systems serving the Northeast.

Anne Quinn, BP Group Vice-President, Gas, Power & Renewables said: "Crown Landing is an important project for both the United States and for BP. It offers US energy consumers a strategic new source of clean burning natural gas supply delivered directly to Northeast markets. The project will bring local jobs, taxes and improve the region's overall economic competitiveness.

"For BP it will enable us to build on our position as a leading provider of natural gas for US consumers and help meet the country's growing demand."

For further information contact:
Neil Chapman: 856 642 6226 (cell 713 503 4583)
Howard Miller: 856 642 6226 (cell 847 682-1657)
Ronnie Chappell: + 44 (0)207 496 4324
Crown Landing information website: http://www.bpcrownlanding.com/

Notes to Editors

BP is one of the world's largest energy companies and is the second largest non-state owned supplier of gas into liquefaction plants. The company participates in LNG projects in Trinidad & Tobago, Abu Dhabi, Indonesia and Australia, and in addition sources LNG from Qatar and Oman. Earlier this year, BP provided the first LNG cargo to the re-opened Cove Point LNG terminal in Maryland where BP has one third of the import capacity - and completed, with its partners, the construction of Europe's first integrated LNG import and power station facility at Bilbao, Spain. BP has also been selected to construct China's first LNG import facility in Guangdong Province.

FERC will be the lead federal agency overseeing the 'pre-filing' application. It has final approval on all technical and safety aspects of the proposed facility. Other federal agencies will provide input on aspects of the project. They include: U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Department of Transportation, the Office of Pipeline Safety, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In addition there will be a number of state agencies involved. Construction can only begin when all FERC and state approvals are in place.

The Crown Landing site - located within an industrial corridor - is 175 acres, of which the facilities will occupy about 40 acres.

Demand for natural gas in the northeastern United States region is expected to grow by more than 10% over the next five years. The region currently relies on other areas for its supplies of natural gas. U.S. domestic production is not keeping up with demand growth across the country, which is the world's largest natural gas market, currently consuming 22 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) per year. In 2010 it is anticipated that demand will outstrip supply by 3 tcf.

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