Located in Cove Point, Maryland, just south of Baltimore and on the Chesapeake Bay, Cove Point LNG is owned and operated by Dominion. With a current storage capacity of 7.8 billion cubic feet and a daily send-out capacity of 1 billion cubic feet, Cove Point transmits gas to the Mid-Atlantic region of the US via connections to various pipeline systems.

Built by Consolidated Natural Gas Company and Columbia Gas System in the 1970s, Cove Point first received LNG via ships from 1978-1980. In 1988, Consolidated sold its interest in the facility and the pipeline to Columbia, and in 1995, Coumbia reopened the terminal. Williams purchased Cove Point in 2000, and Dominion purchase it in 2002 for $217 million.

Dominion received its first LNG shipment at Cove Point in the summer of 2003.

Expansion

In 2005, Dominion completed engineering surveys and studies on expanding Cove Point, and in April 2005, the company applied for FERC approval. Approval was received in August 2006, and construction on the expansion started immediately. Dominion completed the expansion in 2009.

The Cove Point expansion increased natural gas output capacity from 1 billion cubic feet per day to 1.8 billion cubic feet per day, and LNG storage capacity increased from 7.8 billion cubic feet to 14.5 billion cubic feet.

The expansion added two storage tanks, increasing the total number of storage tanks to seven. It also added two electric generator units, taking the total number to five. Also, the project expanded pipeline access; Dominion Transmission built a pipeline in Maryland to connect with more interstate pipelines in Virginia. The project included building a new pipeline, pipeline extension, two pipelines parallel to existing lines, and two compressor stations in Pennsylvania.