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U.S. regulators suspend review of LNG plant on Passamaquoddy land — Radio Googoo
Federal regulators in the U.S. have suspended a review of an Oklahoma-based company’s plan to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Pleasant Point Reservation in Maine due to insufficient information.
Those requests were made in May and October 2007. [Red emphasis added.] (Apr 29)
Selectmen not swayed by LNG proposal pitch — The Herald News, Fall River, MA
Somerset — Selectmen are standing pat in the anti-LNG stance, despite the eloquence of Weavers Cove CEO Gordon Shearer. (Apr 29)
New whale detection buoys help ships take right way — Huliq, Hickory, NC
The array of instruments — conceived by biologist and engineer Christopher W. Clark of the Cornell Lab and engineer John Kemp of WHOI — was largely funded by Excelerate Energy, L.L.C., as part of its environmental compliance associated with its Northeast Gateway deepwater port for liquefied natural gas (LNG). The import facility is set to begin operations in spring 2008.
The new listening system allows researchers to detect the location of whales in real time and alert ship operators and coastal resource managers to their presence. With advance warning, ships can be slowed or re-routed to prevent collisions, which is the most common cause of death for the iconic New England whale.
Blumenthal promises a fight over proposed LNG terminal — Legal Newsline, Chicago, IL
"Broadwater is about to embark on a long, costly and doomed legal battle against a coalition of determined states. Connecticut and New York have joined forces in a dogged, resolute fight to kill this threatened assault on Long Island Sound," Blumenthal said in a statement this week.
Broadwater to appeal NY's rejection of liquefied natural gas terminal project — All Headline News, Wellington, FL
Other proposed LNG facilities in various US states from Maine to Maryland have faced similar setbacks from local governments at a time of serious shortage of LNG, according to Globe and Mail.
Team Maryland condemns ruling on environmental safety of liquified natural gas site [News release] — US Senator Barbara A. Mikulski, Washington, DC
“Federal agencies are all too quick to rubberstamp these facilities, despite the significant and very real concerns of Baltimore residents, the State of Maryland, and this Senator,” said Senator Mikulski. “I am absolutely opposed to an LNG facility in Sparrows Point. I am deeply concerned for the safety of communities surrounding LNG sites and the potential environmental impact of these facilities. I will continue to stand up for Maryland, even as federal agencies rush this process.”
“FERC’s draft environmental impact statement fails to adequately address the safety issues of locating a LNG facility in a populated, urban area or what the substantial upgrades to security would entail,” said Senator Cardin. [Red emphasis added.] (Apr 29)
Webmaster's Comments: Unlike Maine's federal delegates — Sen. Olympia Snowe, Sen. Susan Collins, Rep. Mike Michaud, and Rep. Tom Allen — Maryland's delegates are standing up for safety of, and the rights of, their state's citizens.
Maryland legislators voice opposition to Sparrows Point — Energy Current, Houston, TX
"You have once again decided to ignore our safety, security and environmental concerns about this proposed facility. You also have chosen to ignore the concerns of the state of Maryland and Baltimore County."
College to train port workers on LNG — Grunion Gazette, Long Beach, CA
Long Beach City College plans to use $1.2 million in new funding to implement an LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) program starting this year that would train hundreds of port workers, create a new curriculum for LBCC students and launch a class at Cabrillo High School, all teaching the alternative fuel technology.
“No less than 50% of trucks will have to have LNG engines,” she said. “They are going to need mechanics and technicians who know how to repair and install LNG engines.”
Shell in LNG fleet labor agreement — Energy Current, Houston, TX
USA: Shell Ship Management Ltd. and the American Maritime Officers (AMO) union today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalizing the addition of U.S. seafarers to Shell's officer cadre for its global liquefied natural gas (LNG) fleet.
NATS: As U.S. natural gas prices rise, spread between U.S. and U.K. price levels narrows — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC
NATS suggests that should U.S. gas traders conclude that current gas inventory levels in the United States are insufficient , imports may increase at the soon-to-be operational Sabine Pass and Freeport LNG terminals.
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LNG developer suffers setback — Saint Croix Courier, St. Stephen, NB
He noted that it has been a year since FERC made its first requests to Quoddy Bay LNG and the company has not provided the information required.
“I think one of the really important things about this particular filing is they still have not got the required information about their proposed cryogenic pipeline.”
Calais council votes in support of LNG project — The Quoddy Tides, Eastport, ME
Cassidy remarks that he finds it interesting that the mayor of St. Andrews has said that tourism and industry don't mix, yet a state-of-the-art LNG and regasification terminal is under construction in nearby Saint John. (Apr 25)
Webmaster's Comments: Industrialization of Passamaquoddy Bay would damage nature-based tourism that already exists here and is growing. Saint John is already an industrialized city, without the natural attributes of Passamaquoddy Bay.
Quoddy Bay LNG does not foresee long-term problems for proposal despite recent setback — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC
Donald Smith, president of Quoddy Bay LNG, told Platts LNG Daily [subscription required] that he does not anticipate any long-term problems for the company's LNG proposal for Maine, despite FERC's decision to suspend review of Quoddy Bay's LNG terminal application. In its letter announcing the decision, FERC stated that it did not have enough information to continue to review the application at this time.
Webmaster's Comments: Quoddy Bay LNG has already failed to answer FERC's questions for a year, resulting in FERC suspending review of their application.
Attorney General's statement on Broadwater appeal to U.S. Department Of Commerce [News release] — Media Newswire
“Shell Oil is once again turning to friends — appealing to the Big Energy Bush Administration's U.S. Department of Commerce. This federal administration and its Secretary of Commerce are short lived and certainly will not have the final say on Broadwater. If they fail to respect the law — which Broadwater would clearly violate — the courts can overrule them.” — Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal
Broadwater to appeal N.Y. permit denial — The Day, New London, CT
In order to have the coastal management decision overturned, Broadwater must prove that“the activity is consistent with the objectives of the (coastal zone management act) or is otherwise necessary in the interests of national security,” according to information on the Commerce Department Web site.
Broadwater will ask U.S. to authorize gas terminal — AP, New York Times, New York, NY [Free registration required]
The appeal follows decisions by M. Jodi Rell, the governor of Connecticut, a Republican, and David A. Paterson, the governor of New York, a Democrat, who both oppose the $700 million terminal by the energy company, Broadwater, a consortium of Shell Oil and TransCanada Pipelines.
Shell and TransCanada to appeal N.Y. rejection — Toronto Star, Toronto, ON
New York Governor David Paterson on April 12 rejected the project because of potential environmental damage. Under federal laws, the Commerce Department can override state objections if an appeal is filed within 30 days. The department then has a year to respond to the appeal.
Broadwater to fight LNG veto — The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON
OTTAWA -- Broadwater Energy has launched a long-shot appeal to revive its plan to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound, but New York State's rejection of the proposal underscores the tremendous hurdles facing proponents of LNG sites in the northeastern United States.
The populous region is a major destination for Canadian natural gas — both from Western Canada and for growing supplies from the Maritimes — and producers had worried that supplies of foreign liquefied gas could provide stiff competition and keep a lid on prices in the coming years.
Broadwater LNG to appeal New York's rejection of import terminal — Platts
Broadwater Energy on Monday said it will ask the US Department of Commerce to overturn New York's April 10 decision to reject the company's planned 1 Bcf/d liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound. (Apr 28)
Power generators' trade group concerned about gas composition of LNG imports — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC
According to Platts LNG Daily, Angela O'Connor, president of the New England Power Generators Association, expressed concern that new sources of LNG being imported into New England may result in changes in gas quality that potentially could affect electric reliability.
Webmaster's Comments: LNG terminals typically "dilute" natural gas with (non-flammable) nitrogen in order to bring down the resulting burning temperature of the gas (because of the hotter-burning non-methane fuels in the gas). "New sources of LNG" would need more nitrogen dilution; thus, the additional dilution operations would mean more pollution at the LNG terminal.
Also, since the resulting natural gas would still contain higher amounts of non-methane, such as butane, propane, and ethane — all more polluting than methane — customers of the resulting natural gas would be polluting the air more.
New England Power Generators Association's concerns, as expressed in the above article, happen to perfectly contradict statements by Quoddy Bay LNG's Brian Smith to Maine Board of Environmental Protection Chairman Ernest Hilton (2008 Mar 14 letter, PDF, 177.1 KB).
LNG backers challenge ballot title — The Daily Astorian, Astoria, OR
NorthernStar Natural Gas argues that parklands are not ‘protected’
In summarizing the issue, the title says county zoning law "previously prohibited pipelines, sewer lines and cables in areas zoned as open space, parks and recreational lands. The County Commission recently amended that land-use ordinance to allow pipelines, such as one for a liquid natural gas line."
WSJ Says: Don’t Bet on LNG to Reduce US Natural Gas Prices — ItsGettingHotInHere.org
According to the WSJ article: “Today, a tanker of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, pulling into port in Japan can command close to $20 per million BTUs, roughly double the price of the U.S. benchmark.”
As with any globally traded commodity, the marginal price sets the price for everyone. If Japan is willing to pay $20 per million BTUs (mmBTU) for LNG, prices globally will float up towards this price, and that’s about what we should expect to pay here in the Northwest if an LNG terminal is built. We’ll essentially be linking our mostly regional market to an intensely competitive global market for LNG, where the price is set by the highest bidder.
The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008 explained — MarineLog, New York, NY
Law firm Winston & Strawn has prepared an advisory that summarizes key features of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2008 (until recently, the "Act of 2007").
Here's what the Winston & Strawn advisory says about some the most important elements of the bill.
The Coast Guard has strongly opposed the provision because, in their view, it shifts security responsibility from owners and operators to the Coast Guard and will force the Coast Guard to draw security resources from other important tasks to concentrate on LNG security. Many terminal owners oppose the provision, especially those with terminals under development, because the newly proposed burdens would fall heaviest on such terminals.
NatGas purchasers looking for Spring price dips need to be nimble, NGI reports — Business Wire, San Francisco, CA
CHICAGO -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Utilities, power generators and industrial end-users are going to have to pick their spots and move quickly to secure lower-priced natural gas in the increasingly higher-priced and challenging market, according to Val Trinkley of EnergyUSA, a NiSource company, who will be conducting a strategy workshop at GasMart 2008 in Chicago May 20-22.
LNG Siting Bill Requires DHS Input — HSToday, McLean, VA
Markey’s amendment calls for DHS to assess whether the waterway leading to a proposed waterside LNG facility meets security and safety concerns and would be suitable for the increased marine traffic that would result from any LNG facility. DHS would then communicate their assessment to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and FERC, in turn, would be required to tell DHS what action FERC will take on the LNG application within 90 days or the expiration of any available appeal, whichever is later.
“The need for this kind of commonsense coordination between DHS and FERC has been highlighted recently by the situation in Fall River, Massachusetts, where the FERC has approved a license for an LNG facility that the Coast Guard says shouldn’t be built because the waterway to the facility is not suitable. Despite this action by the Coast Guard, which effectively blocks the facility, the FERC license remains in place. This lack of coordination makes no sense and my amendment will ensure that this doesn’t happen in future siting decisions,” Markey said. [Red & bold emphasis added.] (Apr 24)
Shell to sign historic agreement with American Seafaring Union to hire U.S. officers for LNG vessels [Media advisory] — Center for Liquefied Natural Gas, Washington, DC
The signing will take place at the U.S. Department of Transportation, Media Center, First Floor (off the inner courtyard), U.S. Department of Transportation Headquarters, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C.
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Bridges to raise LNG issue at U.N. forum — The Quoddy Tides, Eastport, ME
As a member of the IEN delegation, Bridges is putting forth the Passamaquoddy community's issues around the proposed LNG industrial site as part of the local organization's global approach to keeping Passamaquoddy Bay free of LNG. (Apr 25)
Quoddy Bay's LNG review suspended — MaineBiz, Portland, ME
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday suspended its review of Quoddy Bay LNG's proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on Passamaquoddy land in Washington County because of insufficient data.
Quoddy Bay LNG receives FERC letter postponing (sic) action — Quoddy Bay LNG
Donald Smith, Quoddy Bay President says, “The FERC letter accurately describes the present situation."
The FERC letter notes that Quoddy Bay has not submitted information that has been requested in the past.“We haven’t decided whether to build the electric generation and the nitrogen plant because we haven’t finalized LNG supply. [Red & bold emphasis added.]
FERC suspends review of Quoddy Bay LNG project — MorningStar, Dow Jones & Company
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Friday suspended its review of a liquefied natural gas project by Quoddy Bay LNG LLC.
The agency acted in response to company filings that it isn't able to respond to staff questions related to safety and reliability. (Apr 25)
Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline plans Phase V U.S. expansion to deliver new offshore natural gas supplies to Atlantic Canada and the Northeast [News release] — Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia and WALTHAM, Mass. – Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline is proposing to increase the capacity of the U.S. portion of its pipeline system to transport new natural gas supplies from EnCana Corporation’s planned Deep Panuke project, located off the coast of Nova Scotia, to growing markets in Atlantic Canada and the Northeast United States.
Following a successful open season for its Phase V Project, Maritimes has executed a commercial agreement with a subsidiary of EnCana to transport up to 170,000 dekatherms per day (Dth/d) year-round, and an additional 30,000 Dth/d during the winter months.
The Phase V Project continues Maritimes’ efforts to add incremental supplies from diverse sources to ensure that Atlantic Canada and the Northeast markets of the Mid-Atlantic and New England states have access to ample natural gas. (Feb 5)
Webmaster's Comments: Expansion Phase V will not be completed until 2010. This expansion will not be able to accommodate natural gas from the proposed LNG projects in Passamaquoddy Bay.
Public comment invited on the Comprehensive Study Report for the proposed Grassy Point Liquefied Natural Gas project [Newfoundland] — Canada News Centre, Ottawa, ON
Newfoundland LNG Ltd. proposes to construct, operate and eventually decommission a LNG transshipment and storage terminal. The proposed development would include a marine terminal comprised of thee jetties, a tug berth, eight LNG storage tanks, and supporting infrastructure including an access road, office facilities, security fencing, and utilities such as water and power. The proposed facility will provide LNG to markets in the north-eastern United States and Canada.
The proponent proposes to locate the development at Grassy Point, within Come-by-Chance Harbour, at the head of Placentia Bay.
TransCanada fights U.S. decision on huge gas terminal — AP, The Globe and Mail, Toronto, ON
The appeal follows decisions by Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell, a Republican, and New York's David Paterson, a Democrat, who both oppose the $700-million (U.S.) terminal by Broadwater, a consortium of Shell Oil and TransCanada Pipelines Ltd.
“They apparently are in favour of squandering their money,” [said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment]. “They can appeal all they want. We are very confident they are going to lose. They are acting like a spoiled child that is not used to losing.”
Broadwater starts to fight state rejection of gas barge — Newsday, New York, NY
Meanwhile, state and local officials and environmentalists in New York and Connecticut have in recent weeks formally asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to reverse its March 20 decision approving Broadwater's application with conditions, on the grounds of potential environmental damage to the sound and a contention that the commission violated federal law by making its decision before New York State officials had made theirs.
Broadwater challenging LI Sound gas terminal edict — AP, Republican-American, Waterbury, CT
GARDEN CITY, N.Y. — Elected officials and environmentalists shrugged off an announcement Monday by Broadwater Energy that it would appeal to the U.S. commerce secretary in its bid to build the world's first floating liquefied natural gas terminal in Long Island Sound.
Broadwater plans appeal to revive Sound plan — Connecticut Post, Bridgeport, CT
Once Broadwater formally files its appeal, the commerce secretary would have 220 days to make a decision that could then be challenged in federal appeals courts in either New York or Washington.
Rather than go down that path, Blumenthal called on Broadwater to "surrender now" and avoid the expense of years of litigation "for a needless project when safer and saner natural gas supply alternatives have already been proposed."
"Connecticut and New York are well aware of their energy needs, and support the many common-sense alternatives to Broadwater," he said.
LNG proposals pose new threat [Editorial] — Asbury Park Press, Neptune, NJ
Plans to build two liquefied natural gas plants about 20 miles off the Monmouth County coast deserve to sink under the weight of major safety and environmental concerns. Local, state and federal lawmakers who represent the Jersey Shore should muster support from their colleagues in what is sure to be a fierce battle to protect the ocean from this latest environmental onslaught.
FERC issues draft EIS on Sparrows Point LNG terminal — Oil & Gas Journal, Houston, TX
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