Regulatory | Infrastructure | LNG | NGI All News Access | NGI The Weekly Gas Market Report
FERC Staff Issues Positive FEIS for Sempra’s Port Arthur LNG Project
The proposed Port Arthur, TX Liquefaction Project, Texas Connector Project and Louisiana Connector Project took a step closer to reality Thursday when FERC staff issued a final environmental impact statement (FEIS) for the interrelated projects.
Construction and operation of the projects would result in some adverse environmental impacts, but they would be reduced to less-than-significant levels, staff said in the FEIS.
Sempra Energy began the prefiling process for the Port Arthur LNG project and associated natural gas pipelines in March 2015 [CP17-20]. A draft EIS for the projects was released by FERC in September.
The project would include two liquefaction trains, each with a total export capability of 6.73 million metric tons/year (mmty); two 160,000-cubic-meter storage tanks; marine facilities for vessel berthing and loading; natural gas liquids and refrigerant storage; feed gas pre-treatment; truck loading and unloading areas; and combustion turbine generators for self-generation of electricity.
The FEIS comes 15 months after Sempra’s Port Arthur Pipeline LLC requested that FERC issue a certificate of public convenience and necessity for its proposed $1.2 billion Louisiana Connector Project, which would supply feed gas to the Port Arthur facility [CP18-7]. Plans call for construction of 131 miles of 42-inch diameter pipeline, with a capacity of 2 MMcf/d. It also includes a compressor station in Allen Parish, LA, interconnections with eight interstate and intrastate natural gas facilities, and other appurtenant facilities.
The Texas Connector Project would include 34 miles of 42-inch diameter pipeline to bring feed gas to liquefaction facilities [CP17-21].
In September, FERC issued environmental schedules for a dozen pending LNG terminal projects, including Port Arthur. FERC also signed a memorandum of understanding with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to coordinate the siting and safety review of FERC-jurisdictional LNG facilities.
Since then, in addition to the Port Arthur project, FERC has issued DEIS for Eagle LNG Partners’ Jacksonville project [CP17-41]; the Gulf LNG Liquefaction Project planned for Jackson County, MS [CP15-521]; the Plaquemines LNG and Gator Express Pipeline project 30 miles south of New Orleans [CP17-67]; the Driftwood LNG project near Lake Charles, LA [CP17-117 and CP17-118]; Texas LNG Brownsville LLC‘s proposal for an LNG export terminal at the Port of Brownsville [CP16-116]; the Annova LNG Brownsville project [CP16-480]; and NextDecade Corp.’s Rio Grande LNG project at the Port of Brownsville [CP16-454].
© 2024 Natural Gas Intelligence. All rights reserved.
ISSN © 1532-1231 | ISSN © 2577-9877 | ISSN © 1532-1266 |