Neptune LNG's facility, which will be located approximately 10 miles off the coast of Massachusetts, will provide a substantial new supply of natural gas to New England. Final delivery of APL's submerged turret loading (STL) buoy system is expected to take place in May 2009. The value of the contract is approximately USD 60 million and represents APL's third order for an offshore LNG buoy system in the U.S.

Carl Arnet, Managing Director of APL says: "We are pleased that Neptune LNG has chosen APL as a partner for this project and are proud that the STL technology will be deployed for yet another offshore LNG receiving terminal."

APL sees strong demand for its technology in regions where the demand for LNG is strong. Delivering another offshore LNG buoy system will further strengthen APL's no. 1 position in this market. The enabling technology in this innovative LNG terminal solution has been developed by APL and is based on the company's very successful STL buoy system.

The Neptune port will use specially designed LNG ships equipped to store, transport, and vaporize LNG into natural gas to send directly to customers via a sub-sea pipeline, which connects to the existing Algonquin gas pipeline system. The LNG regasification vessels will be moored at the proposed Neptune deepwater port by means of the STL system consisting of two buoys. An LNG ship will typically be moored for four to eight days to the STL buoy while regasifying its LNG cargo. The two separate buoys will ensure that natural gas can be delivered in a continuous flow by allowing a brief overlap between arriving and departing LNG regasification vessels. A STL system similar to the one ordered for the Neptune project operated successfully and performed reliably and safely during Hurricane Katrina.

The Neptune project will be able to provide an average of 400 million cubic feet of natural gas per day -- enough to serve 1.5 million homes daily. On very cold days and other periods of peak demand, Neptune can increase its delivery rate to 750 million cubic feet per day. The New England region's demand for natural gas is forecasted to grow by 1-2% per year. At this rate of growth, New England could face a shortfall in 2010 without new supplies of natural gas.

BW Offshore is one of the world's leading FPSO contractors. BW Offshore is part of the BW Group, one of the world's largest maritime groups. The company's operational head office is in Oslo, Norway, with assets operating in Mexico, Nigeria, Mauritania and Russia.

APL (Advanced Production and Loading)Plc develops, produces, and sells advanced oil and gas offshore production systems that focus on ship-based storage and transportation of hydrocarbons. APL was established in 1993 in order to develop and commercialize the loading and production systems Submerged Turret Loading (STL) and Submerged Turret Production (STP). APL's technology has been selected as a mooring solution for production vessels, storage vessels and oil tankers in a wide range of field developments in the North Sea, Africa, Asia, Oceania, Russia, Latin America, and the USA. The world's first offshore discharge terminal for LNG vessels based on APL's STL technology has been in operation for more than two years offshore Louisiana in the US sector of the Gulf of Mexico. APL has operations in Arendal (Norway), Houston, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Shanghai, Paris. Aberdeen and Rio de Janeiro. APL has 300 employees and is a subsidiary of BW Offshore.