Draft

The Port of Long Beach, CA, has delayed the release of a joint draft environmental impact report (EIR) to FERC on the Long Beach liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal proposed by Sound Energy Solutions, a joint venture of Mitsubishi Corp. and ConocoPhillips. The agency was expected to file the report this month with FERC but now is expecting to a delay of at least several weeks.

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is floating a discussion draft of a bill that would, among other things, give FERC the authority to regulate the rates for natural gas gathering service on the federal Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), said energy analyst Christine Tezak.

The Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) issued a Federal Register notice on Friday announcing the availability of a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) on Freeport-McMoRan Energy LLC’s proposed Main Pass Energy Hub liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater port license application. The port would be located in the Gulf of Mexico in Main Pass Lease Block 299 at a former sulphur mining facility about 16 miles southeast of Venice, LA, in a water depth of 210 feet. It would utilize four existing platforms, bridges and other structures and would include construction of two additional platforms to support LNG storage tanks (totaling 145,000 cubic meters) and a ship berthing area. The project also would include construction of 192 miles of 12-36 inch diameter pipelines. Main Pass Energy Hub would be developed over an existing salt formation in which storage caverns will be developed with a capacity to store 28 Bcf of natural gas. The terminal is expected to vaporize and deliver 1 Bcf/d of natural gas. Three public meetings will be held on the project on July 18, 19 and 20 in Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. A copy of the DEIS is available at http://dms.dot.gov under docket number 17696.

While it did not agree with all of the provisions of the draft energy bill before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, the Natural Gas Supply Association (NGSA) on Tuesday urged the panel to take “decisive action” and forward the measure to the House floor quickly,.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s draft energy bill, which reportedly could go through the committee mark-up process next week, includes a broad array of measures aimed at speedily increasing natural gas supplies, including new royalty collection rules and incentives, expedited permitting for drilling, and removal of roadblocks to natural gas transportation, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminaling and storage. It also includes a mandatory price reporting provision for natural gas.

FERC issued a draft order last week granting a certificate for development and operation of the $750 million Sabine Pass LNG terminal in Cameron Parish, LA. With a proposed peak sendout of 2.6 Bcf/d of regasified LNG, Cheniere LNG’s Sabine Pass terminal will be the largest of the three proposed and four existing U.S. LNG terminals with FERC certificates.

FERC last Tuesday issued a favorable draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) to KeySpan LNG to convert an existing storage terminal in Rhode Island to a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import terminal and for Algonquin Gas Transmission LLC to build a small connecting pipeline to the proposed facility.

As part of the six-week public comment period on a recently released favorable draft environmental impact assessment, local residents along the Southern California coast, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles turned out last week (Nov. 30-Dec. 3) at local meetings hosted by the city governments to express their views on the proposal of Australian resources giant BHP Billiton to develop an offshore liquefied natural gas receiving terminal. Despite the developer’s promise of $25 million in annual economic benefits with no safety/environmental risks, most of the residents’ views were negative.

As part of the six-week public comment period on a recently released favorable draft environmental impact assessment, local residents along the Southern California coast, about 60 miles northwest of Los Angeles turned out last week (Nov. 30-Dec. 3) at local meetings hosted by the city governments to express their views on the proposal of Australian resources giant BHP Billiton to develop an offshore liquefied natural gas receiving terminal. Despite the developer’s promise of $25 million in annual economic benefits with no safety/environmental risks, most of the residents’ views were negative.