Marathon Axes LNG Terminal

Marathon Oil has cancelled its plans to build an LNG terminal in Tijuana, Mexico.

The action follows a decision made by the Baja California state government to appropriate land Marathon had targeted for its terminal and associated plants. "The action is obviously a signal that they [the government ] will not support the project and as such, it is clear that the Tijuana Regional Energy Center will not be built," said Marathon spokesman Paul Weeditz. The company and its partners, Golar LNG and Mexico's Grupo GGS, declared themselves "surprised and disappointed" by the expropriation.

Marathon, which held 80% of the project, planned to invest $1.5 billion on a 750 MMcf/d LNG import terminal, a 1,200 megawatt power plant, and a 20 million gallon per day wastewater treatment plant that would have cooled the power plant and relieved the city's overburdened water treatment system. Playas de Tijuana residents implacably opposed the project.