The Australian Prime Minister, visiting California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last week as part of a four-day North American tour, reportedly pushed the interests of an LNG firm from “down under” looking to develop an offshore receiving terminal off the Southern California coast.

Visiting Australian Prime Minster John Howard talked with Schwarzenegger about the prospects for an offshore LNG terminal proposed by the Australian-based global energy/mining giant BHP Billiton. Business news reports coming out of the closed meeting in Los Angeles indicated Schwarzenegger reacted positively to the sales pitch.

BHP Billiton, which has interests in LNG supplies and liquefaction facilities off the western coast of Australia, has proposed building an offshore receiving facility about 12 miles off of Oxnard in Ventura County about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Local onshore community groups in Ventura County where the LNG would be shipped ashore in gaseous form in a pipeline are opposing the proposed terminal.

Noting that he thinks any environmental issues can be resolved, Howard reportedly told the California governor his government and the terminal developer would hope to have a final decision before the end of this year or early next. The California stopover came on the first day of Howard’s four-day North American visit, which includes a stop in Washington, DC.

Howard said the proposed LNG trade from western Australia to the U.S. West Coast could be worth as much as $15 billion (Australian) to the nation’s economy.

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