Environmental permit granted to construct liquefied natural gas terminal in Mejillones

SANTIAGO. -  GNL Mejillones (GNLM), a company formed by Codelco and Suez Energy International, has obtained an environmental permit for its project to construct a liquefied natural gas terminal in Mejillones, located in the second region in the north of Chile.

The permit gained unanimous approval by all regulatory authorities involved and allows GNLM to begin preparations for the site.

The construction of the dock and on-shore re-gasification terminal are planned to begin next month, expecting the arrival of the first shipment of gas to be in late 2009 or early 2010. 

The liquid natural gas terminal will have a shipping capacity of 5.5 million m³ of gas per day, allowing 1,100 MW of electricity to be generated.