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29 February 2008

FERC to assess impact of new proposed LNG pipeline route — The Quoddy Tides, Eastport, ME

FERC is specifically requesting comments on the new proposed route, Option 6, which is a modification of the proposed natural gas sendout pipeline route to avoid crossing the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge. Comments concerning this notice of intent are requested by March 14. (Feb 22)

Webmaster's Comments: This new pipeline route has the same probability of happening as the previous five alternatives. Without an LNG terminal, there will be no pipeline.

U.S. Coast Guard releases Waterway Suitability Report for Sparrows Point LNG — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

The U.S. Coast Guard's Waterway Suitability Report for the proposed Sparrows Point LNG terminal was released earlier this week and is now available in FERC's eLibrary under Docket No. CP07-62.

Team Maryland calls on FERC to deny LNG application, cites Coast Guard report as further reason [News release] — US Senator Benjamin Cardin, Maryland

"I continue to strongly oppose building a LNG facility at Sparrows Point, and the U.S. Coast Guard report confirms that this location would present serious security problems.  In addition to the Coast Guard’s concerns, the LNG terminal lacks the support of the community and state and federal officials who are worried about the safety and security of area residents.  It is time for FERC to take action to ensure that the proposed LNG facility is not built at Sparrows Point," said Senator Cardin. (Feb 28)

Gulf Coast LNG terminals nearing opening; Capacity shakeout looms — Natural Gas Week, Energy Intelligence, New York, NY [Paid subscription required]

Summary
The US Gulf Coast's LNG terminals have been the focus of a lot of action in recent weeks on both the operational and financial fronts. The region's two merchant LNG receiving terminals, Freeport LNG and Cheniere Energy's Sabine Pass LNG, will be commissioning their facilities by mid-year, certainly ending worries about a lack of US regasification capacity that predominated earlier in the decade. Meanwhile, construction started this week on a terminal in Mississippi. [Bold and red emphasis added.] (Feb 25)

Webmaster's Comments: Yet another industry source indicates that Downeast LNG, Quoddy Bay LNG, and Calais LNG Import Co. are moot.

'Flaws' revealed in LNG report — The Daily Astorian, Astoria, OR

In a 23-page report released Wednesday, county staff cited problems with the findings, including qualitative judgments, conflicting numbers and unanswered questions.

In a letter sent last week, the county asked FERC for the second time whether the federal agency would require NorthernStar to follow the county's conditions of approval. So far, the county hasn't gotten an answer. (Feb 28)

LNG firm tells state: trust feds — The Daily Astorian, Astoria, OR

There are three LNG import terminals proposed for Oregon, only one of which can be supported by the Western states, according to the Oregon Department of Energy. Two natural gas pipelines proposed to deliver domestic gas from the Rockies to the West Coast might offset the need for LNG altogether.

[Oregon Governor] Kulongoski said FERC's approach to approving the projects — reviewing each one separately letting the market decide which ones get built — is unacceptable and puts unnecessary strain on the local and state government agencies required to review the proposals.

As FERC considers Kulongoski's request, U.S. Rep. David Wu, D-0re., is worried the state's concerns won't be heard in the federal approval process. (Feb 22)

Hydrocarbon-rich Middle East looks to imported coal-fed power — Industrial Info, Sugar Land, TX [Registration required]

Saudi Arabia's gas is being diverted to petrochemical production leaving a shortage for power generation.

A shortage of gas is forcing Dubai to plan for 4,000 MW of power to be generated from coal-fed power stations for which unidentified sites have been allocated. Fuel oil has been used to source power in the face of the gas shortage, but coal power feed is seen to be more cost-effective in the long term.

Eskimos file lawsuit against oil companies — Telegraph.co.uk

An Eskimo village that is melting into the sea off Alaska has launched a legal challenge against BP, Shell and more than 20 other oil and power companies, alleging that their contribution to global warming is threatening to destroy the tiny community. (Feb 28)

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28 February 2008

Downeast LNG has new pipeline route — Telegraph-Journal, Saint John, NB

After several hearings with the Maine Board of Environmental Protection last summer, Downeast LNG withdrew its application when its pipeline route was denied. Girdis said now that a new route is on the table, the company will reapply to the state board this spring and start the process from scratch.

Webmaster's Comments: Since it was disclosed at last July's Board of Environmental Protection (BEP) hearings that a two-year lobster study is required, it will be interesting to see how Dean Girdis and company can provide the BEP with that study in less than a year.

Girdis promises to be all things to all people — now, even to Canadians. In spite of his previous Canada-bashing, he's now promising to hire New Brunswickers — not Mainers, and certainly not Texans — to build his project's pier.

Having discovered that nothing else works, Girdis apparently wants to believe that this new tactic can overcome Canada's well-founded objections regarding his innately inappropriate project.

Scientists blast feds on LNG plan — New Haven Register, New Haven, CT

Experts from the University of New Haven and the University of Connecticut told a state task force the federal study was filled with “information holes and missteps,” and federal officials had “misinterpreted their own data.”

“There is no robust, in-depth analysis” of major environmental issues involving the Broadwater LNG proposal, said Roman Zajac, professor of biology and environmental science at UNH. (Feb 26)

LNG security questioned by Coast Guard — Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD

A company that wants to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in eastern Baltimore County hasn't adequately addressed security concerns about importing LNG into the area, a U.S. Coast Guard report concluded yesterday. [Red emphasis added.] (Feb 27)

Report: Bay ‘unsuitable’ for LNG plant — Examiner.com

BALTIMORE — A U.S. Coast Guard report calling the Chesapeake Bay unsuitable for liquefied natural gas tankers should end an energy company’s quest to place an LNG facility in Baltimore County’s Sparrows Point, state and federal officials said Wednesday.

Md. delegation requests denial of LNG application — AP, Examiner.com

BALTIMORE — Five members of Maryland's congressional delegation are asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny a Virginia company's application to build a liquefied natural gas terminal at the Port of Baltimore.

Webmaster's Comments: The same admirable quality of leadership cannot be identified with Maine's congressional delegation on this issue — Sen. Olympia Snowe, Sen. Susan Collins, Cong. Mike Michaud, and Cong. Tom Allen. They're more interested in sitting on the fence, not answering our questions for nearly 700 days, now, regarding their positions on the proposed Passamaquoddy Bay LNG projects.

On the other hand, here are some States whose congressional delegates have shows leadership in this regard:

Massachusetts

Maryland

Oregon

Costa Azul costs estimated at US$975 million — Energy Current, Houston, TX

Construction of Sempra's Cameron LNG facility in Louisiana is 75 percent complete, with commercial operations expected to begin in the first quarter of 2009.

The company decided to go ahead and seek expansions for its Costa Azul facility and Cameron LNG facility rather than move forward at this time with a proposed LNG facility at Port Arthur, Texas. However, Sempra is leaving open the possibility of developing an LNG plant at Port Arthur, but is waiting to see how the U.S. LNG market develops. (Feb 27)

Webmaster's Comments: This is another indication of too much LNG import infrastructure in the marketplace.

Hearing to compel environmental review of Sound Energy Solutions LNG proposal set for March — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

The filing also contains a brief in support of SES' Petition for Writ of Mandate, originally filed in the Superior Court of California in February 2007, to compel the Port of Long Beach and the Board of Harbor Commissioners to continue their review of the terminal proposal and to prepare a final Environmental Impact Report on the project. (Feb 26)

Natural gas prices increase, frigid temperatures — CattleNetwork.com

LNG cargoes instead are heading to Europe and Asia, where buyers continue to purchase LNG at much higher prices than have prevailed in U.S. markets. … The reduction in U.S. LNG imports reflects changes in LNG supply and demand across the world. (Feb 21)

US House passes bill cutting tax breaks for oil and gas industry — Platts

The US House on Wednesday again passed a bill that would extend a series of tax credits for renewable energy and energy efficiency and pay for them by eliminating or scaling back oil and natural gas industry tax breaks. (Feb 27)

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27 February 2008

LNG port undergoing final tests — WBUR, Boston, MA

Tests being done with an empty LNG tanker are expected to last several days.

If the testing goes well, Cook says fully loaded LNG tankers should begin to use the new off shore port soon. (Feb 22)

NATS: Repaired LNG vessel Catalunya Spirit back at sea — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

The Catalunya Spirit, the LNG vessel that lost propulsion off Massachusetts last week, discharged its cargo at the Everett LNG terminal over the weekend, and now is back at sea. (Feb 26)

NY State must kill Broadwater to benefit public [Opinion column] — Newsday, New York, NY

The question is not whether to build, but where. Common sense says we should construct these facilities where they cause the least environmental damage and pose the smallest risk to public safety. Unfortunately, when it comes to federal energy policy, the Bush administration has applied a mindless "if they come, we will let them build it" approach as a substitute for thoughtful balancing of environmental and energy priorities. (Feb 26)

Cheniere Energy may sell massive LNG terminal — Forbes

A number of liquefied natural gas-receiving terminal companies decided to add capacity for 2008, but now it's looking as if there is too much to go around. (Feb 25)

Webmaster's Comments: Another LNG industry member — with a terminal already in construction — is indicating that there's already too much LNG capacity!

The credibility of Dean Girdis and Rob Wyatt (Downeast LNG); of Don and Brian Smith (Quoddy Bay LNG); and of Ian Emery, Arthur Gelber, Carl Myers, and James Lewis (Calais LNG Import Co.) has sunk so low, it's now digging a hole. Are their investors paying attention?

LNG harmful energy choice, group says — Ventura County Star, Camarillo, CA

In a full-frontal attack on the dozen liquefied natural gas terminals proposed along the coast of California and Oregon, a Bay Area environmental group says the purported "clean energy" is as bad as coal and will harm the state's much-vaunted push to cut greenhouse gases in the coming decades.

Report: How imported liquefied natural gas will undermine clean energy in California — Pacific Environment, San Francisco, CA

LNG’s high lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, severe environmental impacts, and staggering investment costs are at odds with California’s commitment to clean energy. Numerous studies demonstrate that investments in cleaner sources of energy, along with improving the efficiency with which we use it, can drive California towards a healthy, prosperous economy. Importing LNG, however, contradicts California’s environmental priorities and does not fit within this framework. California has enough financial resources to support either new fossil fuels or renewable energy, not both. Furthermore, California can choose either to burn more fossil fuels or reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but not both.

Hearing to compel environmental review of Sound Energy Solutions LNG proposal set for March — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

The filing also contains a brief in support of SES' Petition for Writ of Mandate, originally filed in the Superior Court of California in February 2007, to compel the Port of Long Beach and the Board of Harbor Commissioners to continue their review of the terminal proposal and to prepare a final Environmental Impact Report on the project. (Feb 26)

Sempra delays Costa Azul LNG terminal by two months (Correct) — Bloomberg.com, New York, NY

Completion of the terminal in western Mexico, near the U.S. border, is now running 30 to 60 days late, after which initial imports to test the facility can start, he said.

San Diego-based Sempra Energy, owner of the largest U.S. natural-gas utility, has already bought the cargo it will use to commission the facility. ``It's on-board a ship waiting for the terminal to be ready to accept it,'' said Larson. ``We made arrangements for it last year.'' Today, he confirmed a second tanker of LNG had been bought, which is also a ``start-up cargo'' for the facility.

Riccardo Crivari, manager of LNG shipping at EA Gibson Shipbrokers Ltd., estimated the daily charter rate for a Q-Flex vessel at about $60,000. (Feb 26)

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22 February 2008

Settlement proposed in gas quality proceeding — LNG Law Blog

First StatoilHydro LNG cargo arrives in U.S. — Reuters

OSLO, Feb 22 (Reuters) - StatoilHydro's first shipment of liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the United States arrived [from the Snoehvit complex on the Norwegian part of the Barents Sea] at the Cove Point terminal in Maryland, the Norwegian energy group said on Friday.

Hoegh calls U.S. and U.K. terminals "complementary" — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

Wisloff said that since the two terminals will have different peak demand periods (Port Dolphin's in the summer and Port Meridian's in the winter), an LNG supplier could arbitrage between the two access points. Wisloff said that both terminals could be operational by 2011.

Work starts on Angola-linked US LNG port - partner — Reuters

Clean LNG Energy LLC, in partnership with the Angolan national energy company Sonangol and El Paso Corp have begun work on a new terminal at Pascagoula, Mississippi, a spokesman for El Paso confirmed.

Targeted completion is in 2011 for the $450-million facility on the Bayou Casotte Ship Channel. Plans call for the plant to regasify and send out up to 1.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day. (Feb 21)

Wyden: Feds haven’t shown need for liquid natural gas terminals in Oregon — The Forest Grove News-Times, Forest Grove, OR

"This question about LNG and terminals reminds me of Dodge City before the marshal showed up,” Wyden quipped. “You’ve got all these applications proposing vastly more gas than anybody has said can be consumed and nobody has addressed the environmental impact.”

NorthernStar asks feds to keep working on LNG — The Oregonian, Portland, OR

NorthernStar's lawyers insist that the region's demand for more gas is already well established by independent studies. Moreover, they contend FERC's process of judging each project separately, and letting the free market determine which one gets built, is one that has served the nation well.

Webmaster's Comments: NorthernStar is claiming that needlessly pitting neighbors against each other over LNG terminal siting, instead of planning where the terminals actually need to be — if needed at all — "has served the nation well." If you or I were to go to the bank to get a business loan, using this same reasoning, we'd be sent home, empty handed.

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21 February 2008

N.J.'s right to review LNG facility challenged — The Hub, Freehold NJ

On Feb. 15, the New Yorkbased investment group Atlantic Sea Island Group (ASIG) filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking a preliminary injunction on the basis that they believe MARAD did not have the authority to make the designation. Also, ASIG said the agency did not apply the standards that Congress required when it created the ACS statute in 1974, according to a Feb. 19 ASIG press release.

In his Feb. 8 letter, Connaughton said as the Maritime Administrator, he acted within his authority to make the decision and that there was no legal provision to allow an appeal.

Company seeks injunction against New Jersey veto in LNG project — Energy Current, Houston, TX

USA:  Atlantic Sea Island Group LLC filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking a preliminary injunction staying a November 2007 decision by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) that would grant New Jersey "adjacent coastal state" designation as part of the federal review process for the proposed Safe Harbor Energy liquefied natural gas (LNG) deepwater terminal.  The terminal has been proposed for siting on a 60.5-acre, man-made island some 23 miles (37 km) from New York Harbor and 19 miles (31 km) from New Jersey.

LNG developer sues to stop special designation for New Jersey — Platts

But last summer, New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine requested that MARAD and the US Coast Guard grant New Jersey an ACS designation, which would require the federal agencies to solicit the state's input on the project. Last fall, MARAD granted Corzine's request. (Feb 20)

Gas line review may give port authority plan new life — Daily News-Miner, Fairbanks, AK

Econ One reviewed the economics of an LNG project compared to a pipeline through Canada (as TransCanada is proposing) for a presentation to lawmakers in June 2006. The firm estimated that shipping costs would be significantly higher with LNG and assumed that market prices along the Pacific coast would be equal to or less than prices in Chicago at the end of a line across Canada.

US working gas in storage falls 172 Bcf to 1.77 Tcf: EIA — Platts

Inventories are now 52 Bcf above the five-year average of 900 Bcf in the East, 32 Bcf below the five-year average of 244 Bcf in the West, and 78 Bcf above the five-year average of 528 Bcf in the producing region.

Tight LNG market to last for 2-3 years - Shell, Total executives — NASDAQ, New York, NY

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Tight supply on the global market for liquefied natural gas is likely to continue until 2010 or beyond, executives from Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA said at an Energy Institute seminar Thursday.

Far East demand, prices, drawing LNG away from U.S. — Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX

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20 February 2008

Group submits new LNG plan — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME

"If they don’t have an LNG terminal, the pipeline issue is moot."

Webmaster's Comments: …and they don't have — and won't have — an LNG terminal. Their new pipeline route doesn't solve their terminal project's inherent violations of the LNG industry's own safety standards (see SIGTTO).

Downeast LNG submits new pipeline plan — Energy Current, Houston, TX

The new pipeline route is the sixth proposed route put foward by Downeast LNG…

Webmaster's Comments: Meanwhile, Downeast LNG can't solve their terminal problems.

Downeast Pipeline, LLC.; Supplemental Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the proposed Downeast LNG project and Request for Comments on environmental issues related to the modification of the proposed pipeline route — US Environmental Protection Agency, Federal Register, Washington, DC

Please note that comments for this NOI [Notice of Intent] are requested by March 14, 2008.

Webmaster's Comments: This Notice of Intent is a supplement to the original Notice of Intent published away back on 2006 March 13. There have been other subsequent supplemental notices related to this project.

While there is an "intent" to prepare and Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), FERC must actually first prepare a Draft EIS (DEIS), and to do that they must include a completed Coast Guard Waterway Suitability Report (WSR). The WSR cannot be completed, since it requires Canada's cooperation, and Canada will not provide the information. (Canada's opposition to LNG in Passamaquoddy Bay is perfectly consistent with SIGTTO world-class LNG standards.)

No WSR, no DEIS, no EIS, no pipeline, and no terminal. Downeast LNG is wasting everyone's time and money.

No supply issues for Canaport LNG project, Repsol executive says — The Canadian Press, Canadian Business, Toronto, ON

Canaport LNG — a joint project between Spain's Repsol and New Brunswick-based Irving Oil Ltd. — will source its liquefied natural gas from Trinidad and Tobago, among other places, Repsol Energy Canada vice-president Denis Marcoux said in an interview.

"We're not in the same situation as Gros Cacouna because our project is certified, is under construction," Marcoux said. "We don't have any fear at this time. " (Feb 19)

Excelerate sends LNG vessel to Northeast Gateway — LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

Excelerate's COO told Platts that the vessel would attach the submersible buoys to the vessel's onboard regasification apparatus as part of the commissioning process for the facility.

Webmaster's Comments: The Northeast Gateway LNG terminal is about to receive its first LNG cargo. That project, along with the Suez terminal off Gloucester, Massachusetts, that will be completed around the end of 2009, and the Canaport LNG terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick, that will be receiving LNG around the end of 2008, according to LNG industry experts, will satisfy the need for natural gas in northern New England.

Court asked to block NJ veto on gas facility — Newsday, New York, NY

The Atlantic Sea Island Group Llc, private investors hoping to construct the Safe Harbor Energy terminal 13.5 miles south of the Long Beach boardwalk and 19 miles east of the Jersey shore, is asking the U.S. District Court in Washington for an injunction to stay a November decision by the U.S. Maritime Administration granting New Jersey the status of "adjacent coastal state" - in effect, veto power.

LNG export extension license request sees less opposition — Peninsula Clarion, Kenai, AK

Opposition … centered on commercial issues.

Since that time, Tesoro and Enstar have withdrawn their opposition, Clark said. Another opponent Agrium has closed its fertilizer plant in Nikiski, and now Gov. Sarah Palin has announced her unconditional support of the extension.

"Right now, we don't have adequate markets for the (natural gas) supply we have past 2009," Clark said. "If we shut down the LNG plant, there is no need for our supply. [Red emphasis added.] (Feb 19)

Port Authority tells lawmakers it could build pipeline and LNG — Alaska Journal of Commerce

A key advantage of an LNG project, Walker said, is that it would require less gas than the TransCanada or ConocoPhillips plans, which would transport 4.5 billion cubic feet of gas daily. The smaller requirement for LNG would mean that state-owned royalty gas and gas from one producing company would be enough to supply the project. In contrast, it would take gas from all three North Slope producers, BP, ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil, to secure gas for the larger all-land project. (Feb 17)

El Paso, DKRW in talks with LNG suppliers — Energy Current, Houston, TX

El Paso and DKRW in 2006 received a land use permit from Mexico's environment and natural resources ministry (Semarnat) and national forest commission for the terminal, as well as environmental authorizations from Semarnat for the terminal and connected pipeline system.

Greenwashing: Navigating the marketing claims (Part 2) — Sustainability Law Blog, Portland, OR

Enviromedia Social Marketing created “The Greenwashing Index,” the first online, interactive forum that allows consumers to evaluate the environmental claims made in advertisements.

Webmaster's Comments: Read the Greenwashing Index's explanation of greenwashing. Read Terrachoice's "Six Sins of Greenwashing."

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19 February 2008

Northeast Gateway LNG receiving terminal preparing to receive first shipment, an Industrial Info News Alert — Market Wire, Yahoo Finance

SUGAR LAND, TX--(MARKET WIRE)--Feb 19, 2008 -- Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas) -- Excelerate Energy LLC, a Texas-based LNG importer, has completed construction of its Northeast Gateway LNG receiving terminal off the coast of Massachusetts. The company is awaiting an operations permit from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Webmaster's Comments: This Northeast Gateway LNG terminal, plus the Suez terminal off Gloucester, Massachusetts, and the Canaport terminal in Saint John, New Brunswick, will satisfy all of northern New England's natural gas requirements, according to LNG industry experts.

Union criticizes Menino on LNG preparedness — The Boston Globe, Boston, MA