Sempra Energy LNG got the green light from FERC last Monday to use the agency’s National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) pre-filing process for its proposed $600 million import terminal in Port Arthur, TX, and associated pipeline project.

However, FERC staff said it had “certain concerns” with Sempra Energy LNG’s selection of TRC Companies Inc. to carry out the environmental studies related to the company’s project application. That same firm was picked by agency staff as the third-party contractor to prepare the environmental impact statements (EISs) for both the Exxon Mobil-affiliated Golden Pass LNG terminal project and Cheniere Energy’s proposed Sabine Pass LNG facility.

“Due to a variety of factors, including the physical proximity of the [three] projects, I am concerned that TRC’s work on behalf of Sempra at the same time it is working at FERC’s direction on the Sabine Pass LNG and Golden Pass LNG projects could give rise to an appearance of a conflict of interest,” wrote J. Mark Robinson, director of the Commission’s Office of Energy Projects, in a letter to Sempra Energy.

In order to avoid this, “we believe a complete separation of TRC staff on the Sempra project [from TRC staffs on the other two projects] is appropriate,” he said [PF04-11].

The Sempra Energy LNG project would be able to initially process 1.5 Bcf/d of gas supply in Port Arthur, and could be doubled in the future to 3 Bcf/d. The proposed facility would feature three storage tanks, each with a capacity of 160,000 cubic meters. The company previously said it was eyeing a 2009 start-up date.

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