Dredge

Natural gas futures bears were stymied for a second straight day Wednesday as April natural gas failed to dredge new territory. After putting in a low of $4.680, the prompt-month contract finished the regular session at $4.757, up 4.9 cents from Tuesday’s close.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has denied a request by Weaver’s Cove Energy to dredge the Taunton River to a depth to accommodate liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers. Two rulings, one from the DEP’s Bureau of Resources Protection and another from the Wetlands and Waterways Program, reported that Weaver’s Cove submitted information and statements that were inconsistent with the U.S. Coast Guard’s findings that the Taunton River would not be suitable for LNG tanker traffic, according to the Providence (RI) Journal (see NGI, Dec. 17, 2007). Despite the rejection, Weaver’s Cove spokesman Jim Grasso last week said the company remains “fully committed” to building the LNG terminal that is proposed for Fall River, MA. He noted Weaver’s Cove, which is sponsored by Amerada Hess Corp. and an affiliate of Poten & Partners, will appeal the DEP decision. The Weaver’s Cove project, which FERC approved in mid-2005, has been the target of fierce opposition by local, state and federal officials, who are adamant against building LNG infrastructure in their backyard, although they admit more natural gas supply is needed for the region (see NGI, July 4, 2005). If built, ithe proposed terminal ould provide 800 MMcf/d of peak sendout capacity, 400 MMcf/d of baseload supply and 200,000 metric tons of LNG storage.

The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) last week denied a request by Weaver’s Cove Energy to dredge the Taunton River to a depth to accommodate liquefied natural gas (LNG) tankers.