Within hours of a formal announcement last Friday by BHP Billiton about a proposed offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal 21 miles off the Southern California coast, residents and community activists in the nearest onshore population center at Oxnard, CA, were already protesting the proposal. Local environmentalists and elected officials defeated another LNG proposal from Occidental Petroleum Co. last year.

In contrast, an onshore proposal in the busy Long Beach Harbor by an affiliate of the giant Japanese industrial company Mitsubishi has drawn few protests and only sparse news media attention since becoming public earlier this year.

BHP Billiton, headquartered in Australia, intends to develop the world’s first regasification facility that would float offshore Ventura County, about 50 miles up the coast from Los Angeles and 21.5 miles out to sea. Supplies could come from a number of Australian and other Pacific Rim sources, a spokesperson said, noting that BHP Billiton is one of six partners in an existing offshore gas production and liquefaction facility off Australia’s Northwest Shelf.

“I want to know exactly what they’re going to do that might affect the environment,” said Nancy Pedersen of Oxnard, told the Los Angeles Times. Pedersen was part of a local citizens group that turned back the Oxy proposal last year, the Times reported.

The activists told news media they intend to meet with the Ventura County elected Board of Supervisors Monday (Aug. 18). The issue has drawn a lot of interest because only a few months ago another proposal surfaced — by Houston-based Crystal Energy — to use an idle offshore oil drilling platform as a LNG receiving site 11 miles offshore.

The Times quoted one environmental group — the Coalition for Clean Air in Los Angeles — that is supportive of the various LNG proposals on- and offshore assuming adequate environmental and safety assurances are provided. The LNG imports could contribute to cleaner air and a reduction of natural gas prices, according to Todd Campbell, policy director for the clean air group.

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