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King &Amp; Spalding Secures FERC Approval for Client Calhoun LNG for New Facility on Texas Gulf Coast

Posted on: Wednesday, 26 September 2007, 12:00 CDT

King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, successfully assisted Calhoun LNG in obtaining permission from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to site, construct and operate a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import and gasification facility on the Gulf Coast of Texas. Calhoun LNG is a wholly owned affiliate of Gulf Coast LNG Partners, L.P.

FERC Commissioner Suedeen Kelly, in voting in favor of the project, stated she was pleased to support approval of the project. "We will have to increase the importation of natural gas from outside North America," Kelly said. "It is increasingly clear that LNG will play a growing role in filling the gap between domestic demand and supply."

King & Spalding partner Erik Swenson, who spearheaded the regulatory efforts of the project, said, "King & Spalding is delighted to have had a role in promoting another source of clean natural gas to help meet U.S. demand for energy." Swenson noted that Gulf Coast's innovative decision to integrate a gas treatment plant with the project provides a competitive advantage with respect to the sources of LNG it can accept. "We also agree with the FERC that still more projects of this type are needed," Swenson said.

FERC ordered the Calhoun LNG project to be completed and ready for service within five years after its authorization order. King & Spalding will continue to represent Gulf Coast before FERC and with regard to other regulatory, commercial and financial matters related to the project, as the project progresses.

Calhoun's proposed terminal and associated facilities will be located in the Port of Port Lavaca-Point Comfort in Calhoun County, Texas. The LNG import terminal would be comprised of a marine berth facility, two 160,000 m3 LNG storage tanks and a vaporization and LNG separation facility capable of a 1 bcf sendout, as well as associated utilities, infrastructure and support systems. Separately, the Calhoun County Navigational District is engaged in a contemporaneous port improvement project that will enhance the range of LNG carriers the terminal will be able to receive.

Gulf Coast LNG Partners, L.P. is a Houston-based partnership formed between Gulf Coast LNG, LLC and Haddington Energy Partners II, LP, a private equity fund managed by Haddington Ventures, LLC. Additional information about Gulf Coast LNG Partners, L.P. and the Calhoun LNG project may be found at www.calhounlng.com/.

Haddington Ventures provides capital to the energy industry, including mid-stream oil and natural gas companies and electric generation, transmission, and distribution companies, with a focus on natural gas storage, gathering and processing, and other midstream activities. Additional information about Haddington Ventures is available at www.hvllc.com.

King & Spalding is one of the most active advisers to the LNG industry, representing more than a dozen domestic LNG terminal development projects. Nine of those projects have received FERC or MARAD authorizations, two have pending applications that are being actively prosecuted and the rest are in early stages of development. More information on the firm's LNG practice, including international aspects, may be found at www.kslaw.com/Library/publication/LNG_Brochure.pdf.

About King & Spalding

King & Spalding is an international law firm with more than 800 lawyers in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dubai, Frankfurt, Houston, London, New York, Riyadh (affiliated office) and Washington, D.C. The firm represents half of the Fortune 100 and in a Corporate Counsel survey in September 2007 was among the top firms representing Fortune 250 companies. For additional information, visit www.kslaw.com.

 Contact: Les Zuke King & Spalding Ph (212) 827-4392 Email Contact

SOURCE: King & Spalding

Source: MARKET WIRE

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