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Passamaquoddy Bay & LNG

2011 April

Somerset signs on to resolution against LNG terminal (Mar 31) — The Herald News, Fall River, MA

The resolution has already been signed by Fall River, 11 Rhode Island towns and a small group of public officials that first circulated the resolution last August. It has been submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Somerset joins opposition to LNG terminal (Apr 1) — Providence Business News, Providence, RI

SOMERSET — Somerset has joined Fall River, 11 Rhode Island towns and a handful of public officials in signing a resolution opposing an offshore liquefied natural gas terminal proposed by Weaver’s Cove Energy, the Herald News reported on Thursday.

Bryngelson: LNG deliveries article missed [Letter to the editor] (Apr 5) — The MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, MA

The recent story on the role of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in the New England gas market ("Terminals built, but LNG imports fizzle," March 30) did not mention that during the winter of 2009-2010, Excelerate Energy's Northeast Gateway (NEG) Deepwater Port provided about 20 percent of the gas New England used between November 2009 and February 2010.

Webmaster’s Comments: This letter by Excelerate Energy President Rob Bryngelson attempts to divert attention from the point made in the earlier article. The natural gas picture has reversed, obviating the need for Mr. Bryngelson's new offshore Northeast Gateway LNG terminal.

New: Vote on controversial LNG tank farm resolution April 6 (Apr 5) — GoLocalProv, Providence, RI

The state Senate is scheduled to vote on Wednesday, April 6, on a resolution opposing the highly controversial proposed Weaver’s Cove Energy offshore berth for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

As a result of the overwhelming amount of information received by the task force in opposition to the project and concerns about the project’s impact on the environment and public safety, the resolution calls on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny the necessary approvals for the project.

LNG to the rescue [Editorial] — The Providence Journal, Providence, RI

Regular LNG shipments to the new Weaver’s Cove facility — most often during the cold-weather months, when there are few recreational boaters on Mount Hope and Narragansett bays — would tend to lower the cost of energy to our region, reduce the need to clutter dangerous highways with heavily polluting trucks, and provide a comparatively clean-burning fuel. [Bold emphasis added.]

Webmaster’s Comments: Since the US is sitting on a 100-year domestic supply of natural gas, since LNG is fetching twice the price in Asia as in the US, and and since the massive Macellus shale gas field is so near New England, it is unlikely that imported LNG would reduce regional energy costs.

Cooper: LNG poses no greater risk (Apr 4) — Savannah Morning News, Savannah, GA

Much of the public fear about LNG comes from two misperceptions: Lack of knowledge about the properties of LNG and LNG tankers’ design and safety record.

When exposed to the environment, LNG quickly evaporates, leaving no residue on soil or water. Gasoline by volume is twice as dense as LNG and therefore has twice the energy and heat as LNG.

Webmaster’s Comments: Center for LNG director Cooper failed to mention the LNG industry's lack of veracity and full disclosure — as is evidenced even in his op-ed piece. For instance…

• Although LNG begins to evaporate the moment it leaves containment, the resulting LNG vapor must warm up by 100° F before it becomes buoyant enough to rise in the atmosphere. In the meantime, the vapor hugs the ground, blowing with the wind. It could enter confinement (e.g., beneath or in a car, in a storm sewer, or in a building), creating a confined vapor explosion hazard.
• When gasoline vaporizes and becomes flammable, it expands to less than half the volume that LNG vapor expands to — meaning LNG vapor endangers more than twice the area as gasoline vapor.
• When gasoline burns it produces copious smoke, masking the thermal radiation, while LNG vapors produce little smoke. LNG presents a greater thermal radiation hazard at distance than does gasoline.

DOE denies APGA motion to intervene in Sabine Pass Liquefaction proceeding (Apr 1) — LNG Law Blog

The Department of Energy has denied a motion to intervene filed out of time by the American Public Gas Association (APGA) in the Sabine Pass Liquefaction proceeding. In its order, DOE determined that APGA did not demonstrate good cause for its failure to timely intervene in the proceeding, though DOE will permit the comments filed by APGA to remain in the record as late-filed comments by a non-party.

Freeport LNG submits Draft Resource Reports to FERC for proposed liquefaction project (Apr 5) — LNG Law Blog

Late last week, Freeport LNG submitted drafts of Resource Reports 4, 5, and 7 to FERC. The draft reports are available in FERC's eLibrary under Docket No. PF11-2.

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