Morgan Stanley Mulling Exit from Gas Export Project

By Christian Berthelsen And Justin Baer 

Morgan Stanley is considering an exit from its planned natural gas exporting project or bringing in a partner to run it, according to people familiar with the matter.

The project would export up to 60 billion cubic feet a year of compressed natural gas over a 20-year period. Natural gas prices are lower in the U.S. than overseas due to booming domestic production. By selling gas compressed in canisters, Morgan Stanley hoped to sidestep costly infrastructure and legal issues that have plagued proposals to export gas in liquefied form.

Morgan Stanley filed an application with the Energy Department in May under the name of a subsidiary, Wentworth Gas Marketing.

At this stage, the venture is still in little more than proposal stage. Morgan Stanley has sought space to build a container and loading facility near Freeport, Texas, and has some construction agreements, according to a person with knowledge of its plans. But it has no contracts to supply customers, no containers or infrastructure and no contracts to transport the gas.

High capital costs, questions over the long-term strategic fit of the business and concerns from U.S. banking regulators over Morgan Stanley's role in physical commodity markets led to the decision to sell it or seek an outside operator, the people said. News of the decision was reported earlier by the Financial Times.

Write to Christian Berthelsen at [e-mail] and Justin Baer at [e-mail]

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