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"For much of the state of Maine, the environment is the economy"                                            — US Senator Susan Collins, 2012 Jun 21

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Top

30 Jun 2008

Pre-filing approval granted by FERC to Calais LNG project — The Quoddy Tides, Eastport, ME

Atlantic Canada and New England, especially Maine, remain particularly vulnerable to the limited supply of natural gas available in North America, according to project manager Art Gelber. (Jun 27)

Webmaster's Comments: Arthur Gelber is demonstrating a surprising lack of industry acumen. Simply put, there is no need for Gelber's proposal, as indicated by realities in the LNG industry. LNG import infrastructure is already being overbuilt, imports are low, and foreign competition for LNG is winning.

Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline L.L.C.; Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Assessment for the proposed Maritimes Phase V project and request for comments on environmental issues — US Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC

The purpose of the project is to provide transportation service for gas from a new gas field (``Deep Panuke'') located offshore of Nova Scotia to the New England market area. The Maritimes Phase V Project would increase the capacity of Maritimes existing system by about 250,000 dekatherms per day. [Red emphasis added.] (Jun 26)

Webmaster's Comments: This expansion of the Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, to carry Deep Panuke natural gas to the New England market area — along with Canaport, Northeast Gateway, Neptune LNG, and MapleLNG — is why the Calais LNG, Downeast LNG, and Quoddy Bay LNG projects are futile excersizes in wasting investors' and taxpayers' money.

Public presses for Sears Island to remain as is — Village Soup, Belfast, ME

BELFAST (June 30): The committee charged with creating a joint use plan for Sears Island got an earful Wednesday night, from locals who called for an end to the planning process and for the island to remain undeveloped.

Mikulski statement on Commerce Department's decision to overturn Maryland LNG ruling [Press release] — US Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-MD), Washington, DC

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), Chairwoman of the Commerce, Justice, Science (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee that funds the Department of Commerce, today criticized Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez’s announcement that the agency will not uphold the Maryland Department of the Environment’s July 2007 decision to deny an application from AES Sparrows Point LNG, LLC to construct an liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal at Sparrows Point, Md. [Red emphasis added.] (Jun 26)

Sparrows Point LNG objection overruled — Energy Current, Houston, TX

"We can't let federal agencies rubber stamp plans for an LNG facility when our state is adamantly opposed.  This is not the last step - or the only step.  We will fight on."

US [natural] gas: Futures hit 29-month high as crude sets new record — Cattle Network, Platte City, MO

Natural gas for August delivery on the New York Mercantile Exchange was trading 16.7 cents, or 1.27%, higher at $13.365 a million British thermal units after opening floor trade 19.2 cents higher at $13.39/MMBtu. Futures reached $13.448 in combined floor and electronic trading, the highest price since December 2005.

Traders continue to see natural gas as a value compared to crude oil, and efforts to decrease the spread between the two commodities are putting additional upward pressure on prices, said Peter Beutel, president of Cameron Hanover, an energy risk-management firm in New Canaan, Conn.

Gas futures need to rise further to attract liquefied natural gas imports to help boost U.S supplies, said Beutel, who estimates prices need to reach $14.00/MMBtu to start attracting additional LNG. [Red emphasis added.]

Webmaster's Comments: Globalization of LNG is pairing natural gas prices to equivalent oil prices, based on BTU (heat) output. LNG is causing natural gas prices to increase, not decrease, despite LNG developer hype to the public.

Liquefied natural gas: A growing economic target? — The Cutting Edge News

Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is more than just a potential weapon of mass destruction in the right locale. It also offers terrorists an awesome economic target wherever in the world it can be found--even on the high seas.

Should the use of LNG in the U.S. follow the trend that would lead to the “high LNG” scenario, or 33 percent, then it would be reasonable to say that the probability of a terrorist attack against LNG, for economic purposes, would increase due to its greater potential economic impact.

LNG holds appeal of increasing a nation’s energy security because of its fungible nature, however it could also be damaging to energy security because of the vulnerability of the extensive infrastructure required to process it. Should terrorists somehow manage to damage or destroy this infrastructure, or the ports that lead to the processing plants, it would be detrimental to those regions which have become highly dependent on LNG. [Red emphasis added.]

Webmaster's Comments: Author US Navy Reserve Lieutenant Commander Cindy Hurst is a political-military research analyst with the Foreign Military Studies Office.

Greater dependency on LNG decreases our energy security and economic security.

Top

28 Jun 2008

More bad news for LNG plan — The Providence Journal, Providence, RI

The decision is another blow for the company, which has been battling widespread public opposition to the LNG plan, as well as a series of unfavorable decisions by state regulators and federal agencies.

Federal officials back state objection to LNG plan — Standard-Times, New Bedford, MA

FALL RIVER — The U.S. Department of Commerce has upheld objections by state coastal management officials against Weaver's Cove's plan to build a liquefied natural gas facility in Fall River's North End.

The decision, issued late Thursday, bars federal agencies from issuing permits, unless the developer wins on appeal in federal court, said Jeff Donald, a spokesman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is under the commerce department.

"This project should never have been proposed," said U.S. Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., in a statement. "The city knows it, the state knows it, the Coast Guard knows it, and now the Department of Commerce knows it, too. It is far too dangerous for so populated an area."

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission considers its July 15, 2005, approval of the terminal still valid, as long as Weaver's Cove can appeal the decision, said Tamara Young-Allen, a spokeswoman for the commission.

Webmaster's Comments: States' authority trumps FERC's "put LNG terminals anywhere and everywhere, safety-be-damned" philosophy.

Fed official rules against Fall River LNG terminal — The Boston Herald, Boston, MA

BOSTON — The U.S. Secretary of Commerce has decided a Massachusetts agency acted correctly when it objected to plans to build a liquefied natural gas terminal in Fall River.

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley, who’s against the project, called the developers’ appeal an attempt to circumvent the state. (Jun 27)

Weaver’s Cove plan sees setbacks and gains — The Herald News, Fall River, MA

Based on the facts presented in your request, Weaver’s Cove and Mill River are granted an extension of time until Nov. 1, 2015, to complete their facilities and make them available for service,” the decision states

The one-page decision is signed by J. Mark Robinson, director of the office on energy products.

Both the city of Fall River and the office of Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick Lynch filed objections over the extension request.

Mayor Robert Correia cited the city’s previous objections and said he was “disappointed” with FERC’s decision. (Jun 27)

USCG – Broadwater LNG project – LOR — MarineLink, New York, NY

The LOR [Letter of Recommendation] finds that the waterway is not currently suitable for LNG marine traffic, but could be made suitable if certain specified measures are taken. (Jun 26)

Commerce Department overturns Maryland on LNG terminal decision — MarineLog, New York, NY

Under the Coastal Zone Management Act, federal agencies may not issue any permits required for a project if a state has objected, unless the Department of Commerce, on appeal, overrides the objection.

When the Department overrides a state objection, federal agencies may proceed with normal permit and license processes for the project. The project will also be required to comply with all state and local permitting regulations, and complete all required environmental reviews. [Red & bold emphasis added.] (Jun 27)

Maryland LNG project wins CZMA appeal — Oil & Gas Journal, Houston, TX

The secretary ruled against Maryland's objection to AES Sparrows Point LLC and Mid-Atlantic Express LLC's proposal to build an LNG facility east of the Port of Baltimore on Chesapeake Bay. However he upheld an objection by Massachusetts to Weaver's Cove Energy LLC and Mill River Pipeline LLC's proposal to build an LNG terminal and pipeline near Fall River. [Red emphasis added.] (Jun 27)

Reversal in LNG plant decision outrages community — WMAR - ABC, Baltimore, MD

Outraged and confused, that's what one Baltimore County community is feeling. Residents in Sparrows Point have long been opposed to a liquified natural gas terminal being built there.

The governor, the Baltimore County Executive, and Senator Mikulski are vowing to fight the decision to build the LNG plant. (Jun 27)

First U.S. call for a Q-Flex LNG carrier — Energy Current, Houston, TX

Q-Flex are membrane type vessels, propelled by two slow speed diesel engines, making them more efficient and environmentally friendly than traditional steam turbine vessels.  Equipped with an on-board re-liquefaction system to handle the boil-off gas, the new generation LNG carriers are able to deliver almost 100 percent of the cargo to the customers. (Jun 27)

Pacific Trail Pipelines granted Kitimat-Summit line approval — The Vancouver Sun, Vancouver, BC

The 91-centimetre-diameter pipeline is intended to link the proposed Kitimat Liquefied Natural Gas terminal, which would receive ship-borne imports of super-cooled natural gas, with the Spectra Energy gas transmission system.

The proposed project, however, has a few more hurdles to overcome. It is still subject to federal environmental approval and must obtain provincial and federal permits.

County has no jurisdiction in pipeline siting, manager says — The Daily Astorian, Astoria, OR

He said the siting process for the LNG terminal requires a local land-use compatibility process.

The pipeline doesn't. (Jun 27)

U.S. rigs chasing more natural gas — Edmonton Journal, Edmonton, AB

The number of active U.S. natural-gas rigs rose to 1,530 this week, the highest since gas-specific recordkeeping began in 1987, according to data published by Baker Hughes Inc.

The flow of liquefied natural gas (LNG) into the U.S. this year will probably be about 30 per cent less than the 770 billion cubic feet recorded in 2007, the Energy Department said June 10. [Red emphasis added.]

Webmaster's Comments: Considering the economic and infrastructure realities in the natural gas and LNG industry, the financial outlook for proposed but unpermitted US LNG import terminals is downright dreadful.

Top

27 Jun 2008

Col. Philip T. Feir assumes command of Corps of Engineers New England District — PRNewswire

CONCORD, Mass., June 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a Change of Command ceremony today at historic Faneuil Hall in Boston, Mass., District Commander Col. Curtis L. Thalken passed the command flag, signifying change of command authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in New England, to new District Commander Col. Philip T. Feir. [Bold emphasis added.]

Webmaster's Comments: COL Feir is now the officer in charge of the Army Corps of Engineers projects in the Passamaquoddy Bay region.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce sustains Mass. CZMA objections to Weaver's Cove LNG project — Sutherland LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

Gutierrez concluded in the decision that "[a]lthough the [Weaver's Cove LNG] Project furthers the national interest in a significant and substantial manner, the national interest furthered by the Project does not outweigh the Project’s adverse coastal effects." [Red emphasis added.]

Weaver's Cove Energy granted extension of time to construct LNG facilities — Sutherland LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

According to the letter granting this request, Weaver's Cove Energy now has until November 1, 2015, to construct the facilities.

Webmaster's Comments: No matter how bad the project, FERC is determined to allow it to fester and to cost taxpayers.

Correia: Hearing absence 'an oversight' — The Herald News, Fall River, MA

Despite not having a presence at Wednesday’s hearing, Correia asserted the defeat of any plans to locate an LNG terminal in Fall River remains one of his priorities.

“But not LNG or anything dangerous, and I don’t care how they try to get it (LNG) here, whether it’s by boat or if they try to fly it in.” (Jun 26)

LNG wins federal favor — The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD

"The proposed LNG project at Sparrow's Point represents a threat to our homeland security, a threat to our environment and Chesapeake Bay and a threat to the families of eastern Baltimore County," [Gov. Martin O'Malley] said in the statement. "The overturning of MDE's original decision to deny Coastal Zone Consistency enhances this threat."

Thursday's finding does not resolve a separate legal dispute over whether Baltimore County can ban LNG facilities in environmentally sensitive waterfront areas, as part of its federally sanctioned Coastal Zone Management plan. (Jun 26)

Cheniere forms marketing deal for LNG — The Advocate, Baton Rouge, LA

[T]he facilities rely on overseas LNG production, which so far hasn’t provided large reserves to the U.S., due to rising global energy demand.

Cheniere, which traded at more than $42 a share in November, has seen its stock price fall below $5 a share today on the American Stock Exchange. It recorded a net loss of $49.9 million in the first quarter of 2008. [Red emphasis added.]

Webmaster's Comments: This kind of bad news is what Downeast LNG, Calais LNG, and Quoddy Bay LNG have to look forward to if they continue their ill-planned projects.

LUBA sets new deadline for LNG ruling — The World, Coos Bay, OR

A ruling concerning Jordan Cove Energy Project’s proposed liquefied natural gas terminal has been postponed again.

LUBA was originally suppose to issue a decision June 12, but requested a two-week extension. The new deadline is July 10.

Analysis—High US natgas prices may draw more LNG supplies — Reuters, Forbes, New York, NY

Despite a 75 percent spike in U.S. natural gas prices this year to about $13 per million British thermal units at the Gulf Coast and $14 per mmBtu on the East Coast, experts said some LNG buyers in Europe and Asia were still willing to pay more.

"It looks like we could get a little more LNG in July, but not much," said Steve Johnson of Waterborne Energy, a Houston firm that monitors the global flow of liquefied gases.

"Latin America is starting to affect us. They've been pulling LNG from Trinidad that most likely would have come here," Johnson said. [Red emphasis added.]

Trade group calls for U.S. to keep path clear for LNG — Energy Current, Houston, TX

CLNG takes the position that the U.S. has existing natural gas reserves in many areas, but federal restrictions preventing natural gas from being produced in those areas mean that the energy industry must look elsewhere to meet the needs of consumers. 

Webmaster's Comments: CLNG apparently hasn't been reading industry analysis reporting all the new domestic natural gas finds, and that the LNG import infrastructure is already considerably overbuilt.

Testimony of Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman to US House of Representatives — eGov Monitor, London, England, UK

We are in a global environment and our actions should reflect that reality.

I believe it is important to understand what I view to be the three principle causes of this new reality: 1) a significant surge in demand 2) geopolitical instability and resource limitations 3) concerns about climate change.

[I]t is my view that we must recalibrate our focus on the following major areas:

We must develop more traditional energy supplies from a greater diversity of sources.

We must have more energy options through the development of technology.

We have to substantially increase energy efficiency.

From a technology standpoint, we should promote development of low carbon and no carbon technologies.

We must improve the Nation’s energy infrastructure and better secure it from purposeful and inadvertent disruptions.

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26 Jun 2008

House committee backs Taunton River scenic status; seen as blow to Fall River LNG terminal — Standard-Times, New Bedford, MA

The U.S. House Committee on Natural Resources approved a bill sponsored by U.S. Reps. Barney Frank and James McGovern to include the river in a wild and scenic river designation. The two Massachusetts Democrats emphasized the environmental benefits in their recommendation and did not mention liquified natural gas in their announcement. However, Fall River Mayor Robert Correia welcomed the news as another loss for Weaver’s Cove. (Jun 25)

Taunton River moves closer to scenic status — GateHouse News Service, The Daily News Tribune, Waltham, MA

The Taunton River is the longest coastal river in New England without dams and supports 45 species of fish and many species of shellfish. The watershed is the habitat for 154 types of birds, including 12 rare types. It is also home to otter, mink, grey fox and deer. 

Again, legislators tell federal regulators that LNG plan is ill-conceived — The Providence Journal, Providence, RI

The line of elected officials who testified at the start of the meeting … was not divided. Each and every one of the nine officials or their representatives raised serious questions about the plan to build a 1,200-foot-long berth in the middle of Mount Hope Bay, about a mile from the closest shoreline. Tankers would dock there and unload LNG, which would be piped to a re-gasification plant that would be built in Fall River’s north end.

New LNG plan gets cool reception at federal hearing — The Providence Journal, Providence, RI

The majority of the people who testified last night on Weaver’s Cove Energy’s proposal for a floating liquefied natural gas terminal in Mount Hope Bay were emphatic in their opposition. (Jun 25)

R.I. to require emergency response plan for LNG — The Herald News, Fall River, MA

The Rhode Island General Assembly has passed a bill requiring legislative and municipal approval for any emergency response plan developed for the transportation of liquefied natural gas in state waters.

"[I]f Weaver’s Cove is going to persist in pushing this idea, it’s going to have to come up with a response plan that suits our needs, and it better not expect that work to be funded by the people whose lives and property it plans to put at risk.” [Red emphasis added.] (Jun 25)

Webmaster's Comments: This may be a good model for other states and communities, to level out the bargaining balance that is currently all on the LNG developer's side.

More opposition to Weaver's Cove LNG project — Energy Current, Houston, TX

The city and Lynch point out in their FERC filing that the project may never go forward because FERC's approval of the project is expressly conditioned on approval by the U.S. Coast  Guard and the U.S. Department of Interior. The Coast Guard has denied Weaver's Cove's request for approval of the waterway for LNG vessel traffic, "and that denial (upheld on reconsideration and appeal) is largely the reason for delays in issuing permits related to dredging and related activities, including the required dredging permit from the Army Corps of Engineers." (Jun 23)

USCG finds "no significant impact" for Cove Point LNG expansion — Sutherland LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

The Supplemental EA emphasizes Cove Point's "proven framework of operating conditions" as an existing import terminal and states that the Coast Guard's preferred action is to issue a positive Letter of Recommendation (LOR) for the project with conditions to ensure that the "waterway is suitable, safe, and environmentally sound for the increased LNG vessel traffic." (Jun 25)

At proposed plant, disaster plan is sought — The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, MD

"Politics shouldn't be interfering with emergency preparations," he said. "You can't stick your head in the sand. When the federal government says there's a need for a project like this and says, 'This is where it will be,' that's where it is," [said Michael K. Day Sr., president of the Baltimore County Professional Fire Fighters Association].

But County Executive James T. Smith Jr. said he remained unwilling to sit down with AES Corp., the company that wants to build the LNG facility on the former Bethlehem Steel shipyard. He said it would be a poor use of taxpayers' money to plan for a project that he does not believe will be built and that the community agrees would not be good for the region.

Webmaster's Comments: Michael Day Sr. is assuming too much. The federal government can't simply dictate where these facilities will be; LNG terminal siting requires permits from several federal and state agencies.

Court: LNG owes back taxes — Savannah Morning News, Savannah, GA

The decision means the company will have to pay more than $2 million in back taxes due by Saturday, said attorney Abda Quillian, who represents the Chatham County Board of Assessors. (Jun 24)

The privatization of Humboldt Bay [Op-ed column] — Times-Standard, Eureka, CA

The privatization of public assets of the HBHRCD was not a focus of the feasibility study. Now it seems the NCRA (North Coast Railroad Authority) and NWP (Northwestern Pacific Railroad) will have to be rolled into the deal in some sort of Public-Private Partnership (PPP). The package will then be marketed to large hedge, retirement, multinational and foreign investment funds by auction. Goldman Sachs takes its money off the top. Those who went this way on LNG (liquid natural gas) plants now find they sit empty because the market changed making domestic supplies more competitive than foreign. [Red emphasis added.]

Natural gas weekly update - Jun 26 — International Business Times, New York, NY

The pace of deliveries of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports remains considerably below last year's volumes and now appears to have been less than 200 Bcf for the first half of the year, which is less than half of the approximately 460 Bcf received last year during the same time period. LNG imports in June have averaged about 0.9 Bcf per day (based on sendout data from LNG import terminals), which is significantly less than the average of 2.8 Bcf per day in June 2007. Most flexible LNG cargoes are heading to Europe and Asia, where buyers continue to purchase LNG at prices higher than those that have prevailed in U.S. markets. [Red emphasis added.]

LNG could hit US$40 — Trinidad & Tobago's Newsday, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad & Tobago

Speaking at an energy luncheon hosted by First Citizens at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, Bertani, now president of Thompson and Knight, Global Energy Services, a legal firm that has an appetite for energy deals, predicted that at the present rate of demand LNG prices could hit US$40.

Webmaster's Comments: LNG global commodification may be driving natural gas prices through the roof — not keeping natural gas prices down for consumers, as LNG developers have been preaching.

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24 Jun 2008

Grounded U.S. schooner re-floated off southern New Brunswick — The Canadian Press

EASTPORT, Maine — The U.S. Coast Guard says it helped evacuate and re-float a U.S.-based schooner after it ran aground off the southwestern coast of New Brunswick.

Webmaster's Comments: Accidents happen, even to experienced, competent people.

First we take Qatar – next, the world [Opinion column] — The ChronicleHerald, Halifax, NS

If all this goes ahead – still a big "if" – Maple would supply Keltic with "feedstock," and ship the rest of its gas supplies to markets in the U.S. and the Maritimes.

To begin with, Qatar is the only stable place in the world with new, undeveloped supplies of natural gas. (You could try dealing with the Russians’ mobbed-up oil industry to acquire gas, but you probably don’t want to.)

Webmaster's Comments: The US Department of State's courting of Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom into owning US energy infrastructure is working, but is an insane method of obtaining "energy independence and security."

New route planned for gas pipeline — The Bradenton Herald, Bradenton, FL

The Port Dolphin project would allow ships filled with liquefied natural gas to unload their product through discharging buoys in 100 feet of water off the coast. The ships can convert their liquefied cargoes into gas before unloading into the pipeline.

Webmaster's Comments: Another offshore LNG terminal — with shipping traffic and LNG ships' berths safely away from the public, unlike all three of the LNG proposals for Passamaquoddy Bay.

Hearing set on offshore (sic) LNG terminal — The Providence Journal, Providence, RI

The 4-mile [cryogenic LNG] pipeline connecting to the re-gasification facility would be buried in a trench at the bottom of Mount Hope Bay and the Taunton River.

[T]he Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has come up with a preliminary list of issues that may be of concern. They include:

The impact of the offshore berth and LNG ship traffic on other Mount Hope Bay users, including fishing and recreational boaters.

Safety issues relating to LNG ship traffic at the berth and LNG transfer pipelines.

Potential impacts on residents in the project area, including safety issues at the berth, noise, air quality, and visual resources.

Project impacts on marine resources and their associated habitats, including dredging impacts.

Current events turning coal into gold — Herald-Leader, Lexington, KY

With the virtual collapse of liquefied natural gas in the United States due to global demand, Appalachia's domestic natural gas joins coal as a hot commodity. Shipments of liquefied natural gas to the United States have dwindled, and companies such as Cheniere Energy in Louisiana have dropped plans to build more terminals. [Bold red emphasis added.]

LNG: Birth of a new industry — Canadian Sailings, Montreal, QC

However, for North America to receive significantly greater volumes, natural gas prices would have to remain high on a sustained basis, to permit North American buyers to match the prices paid by users in the Far East and Europe on a "transportation-paid" basis. What bodes well for gas (and LNG) prices being subject to a positive price bias is that, based on the energy equivalency of natural gas in relation to oil, and based on today's price of oil of about $130/barrel, the price of natural gas should be approximately $22/Mcf.

However, in its recently released energy outlook to 2030, the Energy Information Administration forecasts that natural gas will continue to lose market share to oil and coal. In particular, EIA expects that U.S. natural gas consumption used for power generation will actually decline over the period and will be responsible for only 22% of total natural gas consumption by 2030.

[I]t appears that the rush to construct new receiving terminals may not bring the immediate benefits that their owners expect. [Red emphasis added.] (Jun 23)

Webmaster's Comments: The news continues to be bad for Quoddy Bay LNG, Downeast LNG, and Calais LNG.

FERC official: "Regional Approach" for permitting LNG infrastructure projects unlikely — Sutherland LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

According to Platts LNG Daily, [FERC Office of Energy Projects director Mark Robinson] said that the current approach of assessing potential projects according to a standard set of regulations and allowing the market to determine which ones are built, "has served the country well and will continue to serve the country well."

Webmaster's Comments: What FERC has actually done by this approach is waste a lot of companies’, communities’, and taxpayers’ money on poorly-sited proposals. Regional siting makes the most economic sense.

Weather drives natural gas prices up as LNG imports remain flat — Sutherland LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

According to several market analysts interviewed by The Wall Street Journal, predictions of unusually warm summer weather have triggered higher prices in the North American natural gas market, while LNG imports, down more than 70% from last year, offer no relief. [Red emphasis added.]

The myths of LNG shipping perpetuated [Letter to the editor] — The Cutting Edge News

Wake up, their is no terror threat from an LNG tanker bomber. LNG shipping has the best safety record of any sector in the shipping world; the ships are built to contain the cargo they hold. The cargo is almost impossible to explode and the notion that a ship can be blown up on demand is beyond belief and as for a Naval officer suggesting such a thing raises doubt on the creditablity of US naval intelligence services. LNG burns with a "lazy" flame, not an explosive one; in all probability any incident on a tanker would lead to fire nothing more, bad enough for those on board but this does not represent a major danger to surrounding areas. No large scale test has ever been conducted of the results of a leak of LNG, all results are an extrapolation of a test using very small quantities of LNG carried out in the early seventies. Everything being given as fact is far from it.

Webmaster's Comments: The letter's writer, proclaiming to be a British seaman, claims to know more about potential terrorist threat, the physics of a large LNG spill on water and potential ensuing fire, and such a fire's thermal effects on nearby civilians, than do the experts in the US government's employ. He claims that it's the US unions who are at fault for the anti-LNG sentiment. Luckily, this guy isn't making the safety and regulatory decisions for any government. Perhaps unluckily, he's apparently working on an LNG ship.

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20 Jun 2008

Minister blows LNG lid off MacDonald’s trip to Qatar — The Chronicle Herald, Halifax, NS

Mr. Lunn was a little more specific Thursday in St. John’s, N.L., when asked in a scrum what he’ll be discussing in Qatar in relation to Atlantic Canada.

"The premier of Nova Scotia will be attending with me in those discussions. Again, there are some opportunities for LNG."

"Qatar might have an occasional spot cargo to sell, but all the production scheduled to come out of projects now operating or under construction is committed under long-term supply agreements," Ms. Shook, the Houston bureau chief with the Energy Intelligence Group, said in an e-mail.

Big ocean, big picture — Living on Earth, Somerville, MA

GELLERMAN: Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrich recently signed landmark legislation into law. It's a brand new approach to using the ocean's resources.

PATRICH: The Oceans Act of 2008 will make Massachusetts the first state in the nation to require a comprehensive science-based plan for the management of our ocean waters.

R.I., Mass. oppose LNG permit extension — The Providence Journal, Providence, RI

…Rhode Island Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch and the City of Fall River said the request was “wholly deficient, unsupported, and premature.”

They also contended that Weaver’s Cove had failed to fulfill a requirement to develop emergency-response evacuation routes for the areas along the route of the LNG vessel transit.

Webmaster's Comments: This demonstrates that Emergency Response Plans aren't developed until after FERC issues a permit to construct. That means the affected communities are dealing blind regarding the developers' Emergency Response Cost-sharing Plan that is approved long before FERC issues a permit to construct.

FBI’s top ten news stories for the week ending June 20, 2008 — Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, DC

7. Boston: Arrest in Lasing LNG Tanker Helicopter Escort

Gerard Sasso was arrested and charged with shining a green laser beam at a State Police helicopter which was escorting a liquid natural gas tanker through Boston Harbor.

Read the full story:

Medford man charged with lasing LNG tanker helicopter escort and making false statements — Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston, MA

The Complaint alleges that on December 7, 2007, SASSO repeatedly pointed a powerful green laser beam with a range of up to three miles at a State Police helicopter that was escorting a liquid natural gas tanker through Boston Harbor.

…it ran the risk of startling, distracting, disorienting, and even temporarily blinding the helicopter pilots at distances of up to three miles. [Red emphasis added.] (Jun 18)

AES stop clutching at straws [Press release] — reEarth, Nassau, The Bahamas

In their desperate attempt to avoid US environmental law AES, the US company fighting to put its Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) regassification plant at Ocean Cay just south of Bimini is now working hard on a deal to divert some of the gas to Nassau in order to sweeten the pot. Perhaps the government is actually considering this ill conceived plan in light of the soaring oil costs. However natural gas (methane) is not exactly coming cheap these days.

AES needs to stop exporting their dirty industry - this project is not about helping the Bahamas, this is about avoiding stringent law in their own country. (Jun 18)

Hickel says state should ditch AGIA — KTUU TV, Anchorage, AK

Hickel believes the state should pursue a drastic change in course.

He is now proposing that Palin and the Legislature abandon the idea of a TransCanada line from the North Slope to the Alberta Gas Hub. Instead, Hickel believes the state should assume ownership of the project and take the gas to tidewater in Alaska, where it could be chilled and shipped out in liquid form. (Jun 18)

Webmaster's Comments: The US is importing LNG, but Alaska wants to export more of it to Asia? LNG is all about making money — not what's best for Americans or the US economy.

Port authority partners with Mitsubishi for 'all-Alaska' gas line — Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Fairbanks, AK

The port authority competed against TransCanada in the bidding process established by the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, but has recently offered its tentative support for the TransCanada proposal.

TransCanada has promised to build a pipeline to Valdez if there is sufficient demand for an LNG project like the one proposed by the port authority.

One LNG company says feds should abandon the other Columbia River project because of land issue — The Daily Astorian, Astoria, OR

According to the deed, the road was dedicated "to have and to hold ... unto the public forever."

Unless the road is vacated, Garrett said, "Oregon LNG cannot secure control over the project site without obstructing and trespassing on a dedicated public roadway."

"One of the essential prerequisites for submission of an LNG terminal project to FERC is demonstrable site control," he wrote in his letter. [Red emphasis added.] (Jun 19)

Webmaster's Comments: The problem described sounds a lot like some of the problems being encountered by Downeast LNG (the terminal exclusion zone engulfing US-1 in Robbinston) and Quoddy Bay LNG (cryogenic LNG pipeline crossing ME Rt-190 at Sipayik and Old Eastport Rd. in Perry).

NorthernStar tries to stop Oregon LNG; Letter from CEO says project would require street that's deeded to public forever — The Hillsboro Argus, Hillsboro, OR

William Garrett, CEO of Bradwood Landing developer NorthernStar Natural Gas, wrote a letter this month asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to stop processing Oregon LNG's application until a road ownership issue can be resolved.

Since Oregon LNG has not filed an application, and there's no time frame for the application to be reviewed, it's unknown when a suspension could be implemented.

"NorthernStar has really had no shame about taking public things, including parks, to put them to the use of private profit," said Laurie Caplan, an LNG opponent from Astoria. "They've gotten the county to pretty much remake it (an access road to Bradwood Landing) the way NorthernStar wants it, with minimal safety requirements for trucks and emergency vehicles." [Red emphasis added.]

PUC seeks to bypass energy deregulation law [Op-ed column] — Ventura County Star, Camarillo, CA

The classic in its record of illogical decisions was the 2004 ruling that allowed California utilities to give up as much as one-fourth of their reserved space on the pipelines that bring natural gas here from Texas and Oklahoma. The commission's rationale was that a gas shortage looms and therefore the state must bring in liquefied natural gas from foreign sources.

This conclusion runs counter to federal supply estimates and agrees only with the predictions of Sempra Energy, parent of the Southern California Gas Co. and San Diego Gas & Electric Co., which has just opened — guess what? — an LNG plant in Baja California that will send at least half its output to California.

LNG may turn more expensive than crude oil, Bernstein says — Gulf Times, Doha, Qatar

Prices may decline in 2009 and early 2010. After this, limited new supplies of LNG between 2010 and 2015 will make market conditions “very tight,” raising the potential of “an LNG premium above the oil price,” the report added.

The growth of import terminals will outpace the rise in LNG supplies to a point where global regasificaton plant capacity is more than double LNG production by the end of 2010, Bernstein said. [Red emphasis added.]

Webmaster's Comments: This points out the price fiction being told by US LNG developers, who claim that importing LNG will reduce the price of natural gas.

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19 Jun 2008

Calais LNG to use FERC Pre-Filing review process — Sutherland LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

FERC approved yesterday Calais LNG's request to use the Commission's Pre-Filing process.

Feds: Man shines laser at LNG escort — The Boston Herald, Boston, MA

A Medford man allegedly shined a powerful green laser beam at a state police helicopter escorting a dangerous LNG tanker through Boston Harbor, forcing pilots to take evasive action to avoid the intense glare.

Webmaster's Comments: This demonstrates how easily LNG security escorts can be disabled or distracted from their duties, jeopardizing the LNG vessel security. This is one more reason why LNG ship transits and LNG terminals should not be located where they can endanger civilian populations. (See SIGTTO and LNG Terminal Siting Standards Organization.)

LNG plan appeals float on — Main Street News, Guilford, CT

"Connecticut built a convincing case based on evidence — and the State of New York agreed — that the pursuit of new energy sources cannot, must not and will not come at the expense of one of the most precious and important environmental resources in the Northeast," said Rell. "Long Island Sound is a jewel that must be protected and preserved for future generations — not exploited by a huge energy consortium."

Rell went on to ask the Commerce Department to reject the Broadwater appeal, citing safety and environmental issues. "No appeal can eliminate the reality that this project is simply wrong for the sound."

Gazprom examining ExxonMobil's offer to participate in proposed BlueOcean LNG project — Sutherland LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

Gazprom Deputy CEO Alexander Medvedev said yesterday that his company has received ExxonMobil's offer to participate in the BlueOcean LNG terminal but has not yet analyzed the offer. Medvedev noted further that Gazprom has examined at least 25 terminals in the eastern United States to identify the most efficient routes for LNG supplies from the planned Shtockman and Yamal LNG liquefaction projects. [Red emphasis added.]

Webmaster's Comments: The US depending on a Russian natural gas monopoly is US energy security insanity. (See The future is in the pipeline, below.)

The future is in the pipeline [Book review] — The Wall Street Journal, New York, NY

Natural gas is a monopolistic business: Building even one pipeline is expensive; building another makes no commercial sense. Russia, with its huge natural-gas reserves, uses its monopoly on east-west pipelines to promote Russia's political interests -- and reacts toughly when challenged. Marshall Goldman sets out these disturbing truths in "Petrostate," a bleak and yet spirited account of Russia's energy politics. The West, Mr. Goldman makes clear, should be wincing at its own vulnerability.

The unanswerable question is whether the Kremlin -- or more precisely, Vladimir Putin -- will use gas as a weapon to gain international political influence. [Red emphasis added.]

Webmaster's Comments: See Gazprom examining ExxonMobil's offer to participate in proposed BlueOcean LNG project, above.

Sabine Pass LNG to commence cool down of storage tank — Sutherland LNG Law Blog, Washington, DC

FERC has approved Sabine Pass LNG's request to commence cool down activities of one of the terminal's LNG storage tanks.

Waterborne Energy projects 'staggering' fall in 2008 LNG imports — Triangle Business Journal, Raleigh, NC

Referring to the U.S. liquified natural gas import situation as a "perfect storm," Houston-based Waterborne Energy Inc. says incoming LNG for 2008 will be "staggeringly" lower than projected.
"The U.S. serves as the 'sump' for excess supplies of LNG and is the only country whose imports are largely driven by profit and not necessity," Johnson said. "So product we expected here is now being sold to the highest bidders in Asia and Europe.[ [Bold & red emphasis added.]

Webmaster's Comments: Waterborne Energy has made it clear: US LNG imports are driven by profit, not necessity. FERC's justification of LNG terminals anywhere and everywhere is as expected — catering to big business, not to the public interest.

U.S. gas price may rise on Asian demand, Goldman says (update2) — Bloomberg

June 19 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. natural gas prices, which have surged 78 percent this year, may extend gains because of competing demand for liquefied natural gas from Asia and Europe, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said.

Global LNG demand to bolster US natural gas prices: Goldman Sachs — Platts

Voracious demand in South Korea and Spain will keep liquefied natural gas deliveries in the US low, which will be bullish to US gas prices, analysts at US investment bank Goldman Sachs said.

US entering period of 'significantly higher' power prices: FERC — Platts

The US may be entering a period of "significantly higher power prices that will last for years," Federal Energy Regulatory Commission staff said Thursday.

In a report presented to commission members Thursday, staff said forward power prices are pointing upward in anticipation of high fuel prices and construction costs, with natural gas-fired power at the leading edge of those trends.

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18 Jun 2008

Premier still mum on Qatar trip — Chronicle Herald, Halifax, NS

Officials with two companies trying to secure a supply of natural gas for projects in Goldboro say they don’t know why the premier is going to Qatar.

The country has one of the world’s largest supplies of natural gas.

Province stepping in? — Guysborough Journal, Guysborough, NS

Rodney MacDonald’s spokesman is keeping tightlipped about the details of the premier’s upcoming business trip to Qatar, the same country with which Keltic Petrochemicals’ president is negotiating to secure a natural gas supply.

“I can’t say what it will be about,” Wade Keller told The Journal Tuesday afternoon. “But he’ll be meeting with government officials, in this case members of the Royal Family, and it’s a business opportunity with Nova Scotia. Sometimes that’s the way it goes in business negotiations. There are competitive reasons.”