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Passamaquoddy: take a stand [Opinion] — NB Telegraph Journal [Paid subscription required]
The war of words over liquid natural gas projects on Passamaquoddy Bay is escalating. Last week, U.S. ambassador David Wilkins weighed in, saying if the proposals clear the U.S. regulatory process, they will be permitted to operate.
Canada's say in LNG ships' passage debated in Calais — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
"In 1992, the U.S. Department of State interpreted or made a ruling that there may be no suspension of innocent passage through such straits," said Capt. Alan Moore, USCG retired. "Included in this category are Head Harbour Passage leading through Canadian territorial seas to the United States and the Passamaquoddy Bay. ... That's the United States' stand on it as done by the State Department." (Oct 28)
Oil [& natural gas] companies face heat from US lawmakers over record profits — Platts [Free subscription required]
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, a Tennessee Republican, Thursday said he would ask oil executives to appear at a Senate hearing to explain why energy prices are so high.
He also requested the Senate permanent committee on investigations to examine whether oil companies were price gouging consumers in the wake of back-to-back Gulf hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Senator Susan Collins, a Republican from Maine, said she had introduced a provision that would direct the Senate Finance Committee to identify ways to pay for funding increases for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program by eliminating "subsidies and special tax breaks that benefit the major oil companies."
"At a time when huge oil corporations are expected to report record profits, and Congress is dealing with troubling budget challenges, it makes no sense to continue providing these companies with special subsidies and tax breaks," Collins said in a statement. (Oct 28)
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Petro-Canada confident about Russia project — Reuters Canada
Kallos said the proposed plant would ship LNG to the Cacouna joint terminal near Quebec, a Petro-Canada joint venture, where it would be regasified for sale in central Canada and the northeast of the United States.
LNG: The Permit Process; MP Tables Anti-LNG Petition In Canadian Parliament — WQDY FM, Calais, ME
The issue of LNG proposals in Passamaquoddy Bay came up Wednesday afternoon in the Canadian House of Commons when the Conservative MP for Fundy Royal, Rob Moore said the following: "Mr. Speaker, it's my pleasure to table a petition to prevent passage of LNG tankers through Head Harbour Passage. It's signed by a great number of Canadians, mostly from New Brunswick, and they are urging the Government of Canada to assert its sovereign rights and to declare no rights of passage for LNG tankers through Head Harbour Passage based on Canadian law, and the precedent set in 1976 when oil tankers were refused passage." (Oct 27)
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Congressional leadership needed in LNG fight [Opinion] — Ventura County Star, Ventura County, CA [Free subscription required]
I am certain that some people are using scare tactics and overstating the dangers, but when I speak with those who are knowledgeable, yet reasonable about expressing their thoughts, I find that they have grave concerns that merit consideration.
US Ambassador [to Canada] adds to explosive Quoddy LNG issue! — Google Groups: SavePassamaquoddyBay
Ambassador says little Canada can do to stop Maine LNG terminals (Oct 29)
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Yes, the local LNG projects could be approved, built, and operational, but without any product to process or sell if Canada prevents ships from passing through Head Harbour Passage.]
Ambassador says little Canada can do to stop Maine LNG terminals — Boston Globe, Boston, MA
Richard Hoffmann, an engineer with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, said at a recent public meeting in Robbinston that if each developer submits stellar applications, then "probably, yes," all three facilities could be constructed.
But Hoffmann also told the meeting that if the Canadian government decides to prohibit Maine-bound LNG tankers in Canadian waters, then none of the three proposed facilities likely would be built. (Oct 27)
Canada can't stop LNG terminals, says Wilkins — Daily Gleaner, Fredericton, NB
If the projects clear the regulatory hurdles, they will be built, [U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Wilkins] said. "The law is in place and the process is in place. If they get approved, they can operate," said Wilkins. (Oct 27)
Telegraph Journal filled with Quoddy Region LNG political activities in Ottawa — Google Groups: SavePassamaquoddyBay
We are citizens of the Quoddy Region and intend to protect this special place that gives life to us all. (Oct 29)
State Asks For Key Role In LNG Decision — Day, New London, CT [Free subscription required]
Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the state's environmental protection commissioner have asked the federal government to give the state a decisive role in determining whether an importation and processing barge for liquefied natural gas should be allowed to park in the middle of Long Island Sound. (Oct 29)
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Real Concern from David Suzuki — Google Groups: SavePassamaquoddyBay
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If we want our country [Canada] to continue to be one of the greatest in the world, we must change. We need a National Sustainability Act and we need it now. (Oct 29)
Open Letter to Hon. Anne McLellan re border security and LNG — Google Groups: SavePassamaquoddyBay
"The resultant growth and increased activity [if any of the proposed LNG facilities were to become realized] right on our border will, I submit, ultimately result in a security nightmare at a place where we need an ordered and manageable level of activity."
"In the interest of security and public safety, I respectfully request that you and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security consider this and act to deny, through the appropriate agencies, permitting of the proposed LNG terminals and tank farms along the Passamaquoddy Bay shore in Maine." (Oct 28)
LNG forms toxic mix with seawater! — Google Groups: SavePassamaquoddyBay
In spite of the PR demostration showing goldfish living "in" LNG, it appears that methane based LNG is toxic to fish and other marine organisms. (Oct 28)
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: While methane gas isn't toxic to humans, it seems to be highly toxic to fish.]
Rep backs LNG plan — Boston Herald, Boston, MA
Rep. Brian Dempsey (D-Haverhill), chairman of the Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy Committee, said the idea by AES Corp. to hollow out the deserted, state-owned island and store liquefied natural gas there is a ``sound proposal.'' (Oct 28)
Case for LNG site flawed, Del. argues — Gloucester County Times, Gloucester County, NJ
New Jersey was both incorrect and premature in petitioning the Supreme Court for the right to see a liquefied natural gas facility built along its shores, according to Delaware's response, filed on Thursday, to the Garden State's July motion. (Oct 28)
Feds offer information on LNG — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
This is the second time FERC officials have ventured Down East. They were in town at the request of U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe and the Maine State Planning Office. Snowe intervened after several area residents suggested that FERC's earlier meeting in Robbinston in September excluded rather than included them. (Oct 27)
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: The public was "excluded" this time, too, since it was nearly impossible for the public to understand the speakers, due to the muddling acoustics of the room.]
LNG comments spark war of words — Standard-Times, South coast of MA
Rep. Sullivan reiterated the dire facts of the project that frighten his constituents: The terminal would be 1,200 feet from a residential neighborhood, and 9,000 people live within one mile of the site. (Oct 27)
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LNG imports in jeopardy? — Hindu, India's National Newspaper
Iran cannot access commercially proven LNG liquefaction technologies thanks to U.S. sanctions on Tehran. The only two commercially proven technologies are of U.S. origin and the sanctions preclude U.S.-based firms to associate with projects in Iran. (Oct 26)
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Perry considered for new LNG plan — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
The announcement was circulated late Monday to media and a range of other interested parties by e-mail. They included Alan Stearns of Gov. John Baldacci's office; George LaPointe, the state commissioner for the Department of Marine Resources; Robert Peacock, a Lubec resident and navigational pilot in Eastport; David Turner of the Perry Improvement Association, which asked for the meeting with Brian Smith; and Karen Raye, the wife of state Sen. Kevin Raye of Perry and Turner's sister-in-law.
Re: LNG Who's in charge? [Op-ed column] — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
It's not Washington County's economic condition that determines its degree of poverty; it is the absence of fair play and political leadership.
It's not so much that Maine state representatives are beyond reproach, it is that our ability to recognize ethical indifference has been blurred by the LNG hype. Every member of Maine's legislative body should be held to a higher standard of conduct.
Washington-County-style of economics has morphed into a creature beyond recognition. In that, like Moore and Emery, Calais Mayor Vincent Cassidy catapults his authority about legislative ethics by belittling the opposing views of Lewis and Soctomah. Yet by his own admission, Cassidy himself had even "prepared a letter of support for Emery and Moore" a week before the Calais City Council vote (BDN, Sept. 1).
Quoddy Bay Considering Perry For LNG Storage Tanks — WQDY - FM, Calais, ME
With the potential site in Perry, Smith said, "the pipeline would actually go right across Half Moon Cove, in an area that's too shallow for fishing boats. It would then connect with south Perry and go across Old Eastport Road into a facility that has three full-containment LNG storage tanks."
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Such a pipeline would be either (1) another "fairy-tale" never-before-built underwater cryogenic LNG pipeline that would be exposed at low tide, (2) would go across the bay on an above-water jetty, or (3) in an underwater tunnel that would be exposed at low tide. In all three cases, there would be a negative effect on those who harvest their catch from the mudflats.]
Pipeline Delays Could Cost Canadians $57 Billion — Canada NewsWire (CNW) Telbec, Canada
Ontario consumers would have to bear as much as one-third the cost increase followed by gas consumers in Alberta and British Columbia with 35 percent and 13 percent of the burden, respectively. The remaining 19 percent of the impact would fall on consumers in Quebec, Saskatchewan, the Maritimes and Manitoba — in that order.
Gazprom seeks stake in U.S. facilities — Houston Chronicle, Houston, TX
Gazprom Deputy Chairman Alexander Medvedev said in Houston today that the Russian energy giant wants to own liquefied natural gas pipes and terminals in the United States.
Two U.S. companies — Houston-based ConocoPhillips and San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron — are on the short list for Shtokman. Irving-based Exxon Mobil Corp. was dropped.
He also singled out Houston-based Cheniere as a potential partner state-side.
Medvedev also mentioned the Cove Point terminal in Maryland that is undergoing an expansion. Gazprom's first LNG shipment to the U.S. landed at Cove Point, which is partly owned by Shell, in September.
Shell is also working with Gazprom on the Sakhalin II LNG project which will feed liquefied natural gas to Asia and Mexico.
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Russia's Gazprom is planning to own the Cove Point LNG terminal in Maryland; Shell is involved with safety-deficient BP in Cove Point; Shell is abusing environment and indigenous culture at Sakhalin, Russia; and then there's all that attention that Downeast LNG is giving to Cove Point as a "model" LNG facility (see Google® results for downeastlng.com + "Cove Point"). How's that for Halloween scary!]
2 Trials Related to Energy Crisis Slated to Start — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA
According to court documents, the competitors decided to cooperate in the delivery of natural gas, agreeing that Southern California Gas would stop trying to compete with El Paso to build a Baja California pipeline and that El Paso would kill a pipeline proposal to bring cheap Canadian supplies into Southern California Gas territory.
In all, Sempra is being sued for nearly $8 billion. (Oct 24)
Sempra's gas venture gathering steam at Baja site — Union-Tribune, San Diego, CA
By January 2008, if all goes according to plan, Sempra's $1 billion Energía Costa Azul terminal will begin supplying Baja California and Southern California power plants with a new source of natural gas that could change the region's energy future. (Oct 24)
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LNG Q & A [Editorial] — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
That meeting will be held from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 26, at the Washington County Community College gymnasium in Calais. Representatives from FERC and the Coast Guard will be there.
The End of the Line for LNG — Down East Magazine, Camden, ME
"A lot of politicians here in New Brunswick are backing us on this," Craig says, "and they're on both sides of the aisle politically. They all agree, and that doesn't happen very often up here." (Nov issue)
Living on the edge — Down East Magazine, Camden, ME
"We are being asked to lie down for people to get natural gas to Boston and New York. Why would we volunteer to do this?" (Nov issue — This story is not available online.)
Plant expected to boost fuel supplies by 2008 — Union Tribune, San Diego, CA
At least four other energy companies or partnerships have failed to get similar projects started along the coasts of Canada, the United States and Mexico. But a dozen more ventures are in the works.
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Lubec LNG queries lead back to Okla. developer — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
Hubert E. Bereman, the vice president for development engineering for Smith Cogeneration International Inc., has been contacting landowners on Seward's Neck in recent months. But Bereman said he represented a different company — Bear Creek Investments — in his introductions.
As Smith Cogeneration in 2001, Bereman and Smith had teamed together to try to get a $600 million power plant operational as an economic development project on American Indian land in eastern Oklahoma, according to an Oklahoma Legislature Web site.
Smith projected that as many as 400 workers would be employed over two years in building the facility, and that the plant would be run by 40 employees in what Smith called "high-paying jobs."
One of the editors for the Poteau Daily News remembers how project plans rose and fell. "They were getting all kinds of permits, but then it just kind of disappeared," said Laura Young, whose paper followed Smith and his project. "It didn't fly. It didn't do anything. It pretty well fizzled out."
Running out of Energy [Editorial] — Bangor Daily News, Bangor, ME
Before passing a massive energy bill just months ago, provisions requiring that 10 percent of the nation's energy come from renewable sources by 2020 and that the president seek ways to reduce American oil use by 1 million barrels a day — both strongly supported by Maine's senators — were stripped from the legislation.
LNG protest heated — Herald News, Fall River, MA
"We want to point out the duplicity between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and (Hess LNG)," said coalition Chairman Joseph Carvalho. "Also, to let people who are attending the conference know the real truth about the project and how people in Fall River and Somerset really feel about it."
FERC commissioner Brownell: Area’s energy supply lacking — Herald News, Fall River, MA
Despite its need for natural gas, [FERC Commissioner Nora Mead Brownell] said, New England "is lacking a regional plan." ... "The region needs to sit down and say, ‘What is the long-term plan?’ " Brownell said.
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Gas terminal sparks safety concerns — Daily Free Press, Boston University, Boston, MA
The location is one of the richest ecological areas, and if the LNG terminal was built there, it would encounter numerous lawsuits ... [mainly dealing with the harm toward] endangered species."
"The LNG terminal is not away from the public," McCaffrey said.
Increase energy supply [Letter to the editor] — Bangor Daily News
A better approach might involve increasing energy supply. Why not a little support for a liquefied natural gas facility in Maine in return for a guarantee that a certain amount will be made available directly to the New England states?
Just think if every state made these kind of decisions, we might really make a difference in our foreign oil dependence instead of living in a land of make believe. [NOTE: As typical with Bangor Daily News letters to the editor, the online page contains no link to take you directly to a particular letter, the text contains inappropriate line endings and line spaces, and most letter's headlines are undistinguishable from the body text. To find the letter using the above link, search the page for "Increase energy supply".]
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: Importing LNG from foreign countries — from unstable parts of the world — won't reduce our dependence on foreign fuel supplies! Gov. Baldacci's goal to reduce natural gas consumption (and energy, in general) is, for once, something that we can agree with.]
Cheniere Energy Engages The Abraham Group; Former US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham to Advise on LNG Transactions — Business Wire
The Abraham Group, LLC, is a Washington, D.C.-based international strategic consulting firm that specializes in assisting clients seeking opportunities in the international energy sector. The firm's Chairman & CEO, Mr. Spencer Abraham, served as U.S. Secretary of Energy from 2001 - 2005 and as a U.S. Senator from 1995 - 2001. His associates include Mr. Joseph McMonigle, the firm's president, who was former Chief of Staff at the U.S. Department of Energy and Vice Chairman of the International Energy Agency Board of Governors; and Ms. Majida Mourad, the firm's Vice President, who served as Senior Advisor to the Secretary as a lead Department representative on international energy matters focusing on U.S. work in the Middle East, Australia, and Russia as well as various European and Asian countries.
[WEBMASTER'S NOTE: These are ex-government officials who are now doing business with entities that they previously regulated or with whom they negotiated. Although there may have been no foul play, such relationships do tend to bring into question whether or not the former officials are now receiving payoffs for past favors provided to industry.
Such circumstances beg for legislation that establishes a moratorium period (i.e., five years) on conducting private business between former government officials and the industries they regulated while in government.]
Storms' fallout pits energy supply against environment — USA Today
The destruction here is emblematic of the hurricane's impact on the USA's fragile natural-gas lifeline. Weeks after the skies cleared, fallout from the historic storm is roiling markets — with pain for consumers and industrial users alike — and igniting an urgent debate over the tradeoff between the environment and energy security. (Oct 20)
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