March 5 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell said it wouldbuild two small-scale gas liquefaction units in Louisiana andOntario as part of an investment plan to unlock value in the useof liquefied natural gas as a transport fuel.
"These two units will form the basis of two new LNGtransport corridors in the Great Lakes and Gulf Coast regions,"Shell said in a statement on Tuesday.
Shell said it was also working to use natural gas as a fuelin its own operations, which follows an investment decision in2011 on a similar corridor in Alberta, Canada.
Shell, which has bet the most heavily of all the top oilfirms on a future for cleaner-burning natural gas, said it isusing its expertise to make LNG a viable fuel option for thecommercial market.
In the Gulf Coast corridor, Shell plans to install theliquefaction unit at its Geismar Chemicals facility to supplyLNG along the Mississippi river and intra-coastal waterway andto exploration areas offshore Gulf of Mexico and onshore Texasand Louisiana.
Shell plans to build the liquefaction unit at its SarniaManufacturing Centre for the Great Lakes corridor. This projectwill supply LNG fuel to all five Great Lakes, their borderingU.S. states and Canadian provinces and the St. Lawrence Seaway.
Each unit will be able to produce 250,000 tons of LNG, Shellsaid.
The two liquefaction units are expected to begin operationsand production in about three years after final regulatorypermission.
A liquefaction plant cools natural gas at very lowtemperatures to turn it into liquid.
In late January, Shell teamed up with Kinder Morgan Inc to export LNG from the United States to take advantageof higher prices abroad.
