Northernstar

In the wake of the NorthernStar Natural Gas bankruptcy filing and abandonment of its FERC-permitted Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal in northwest Oregon, industry observers see the proposed Palomar natural gas pipeline, which had a potential connection with Bradwood, as perhaps the next gas project domino to fall in the Pacific Northwest. However, Palomar officials told NGI last Wednesday that the project is still alive, but “slowed” in its permitting.

NorthernStar Natural Gas Corp.’s plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal at Bradwood Landing along the Columbia River in Oregon received a boost last Wednesday night when the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to rezone a parcel of private land that a connecting gas pipeline for the terminal is slated to traverse.

NorthernStar Natural Gas Corp.’s plans to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal at Bradwood Landing along the Columbia River in Oregon received a boost Thursday night when the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners voted 4-1 to rezone a parcel of private land that a connecting gas pipeline for the terminal is slated to traverse.

NorthernStar Natural Gas Corp.’s proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal received support from an editorial in the Longview (WA) Daily News. The newspaper stressed benefits that it says the project offers the region. An 18-mile gas pipeline connecting the terminal on the Oregon side of the Columbia River to the Northwest Pipeline interstate grid is slated to run just north of Longview. “Hydropower won’t meet the [Northwest’s] future needs,” the editorial said. “New dams are not being built. Coal, while plentiful, carries unacceptable environmental costs. LNG is a clean source of energy.” The editorial cited a 2007 study by University of Oregon economics professor Philip Romero that concluded that up to 10,000 jobs could be created by the facility, and an increase in the gross domestic product for Oregon, Washington and Idaho of up to $1 billion could be realized. Romero also said the terminal could help cut natural gas prices in the region by 13%. “Politicians do their constituents no favor by stalling this project,” the editorial said. “The Bradwood Landing terminal is a net benefit for the region’s economy — both short- and long-term.”

The three-member Oregon Land Use Appeals Board Tuesday postponed action on a challenge of the county land use permits awarded to NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc.’s proposed Bradwood Landing liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal along the Columbia River in Oregon. The board will next take up challenges to Clatsop County’s permits on Jan. 27.