LNG Terminals

{{#badges: FrackSwarm|Navbar-fracking}} As of 2012, the United States is the world's largest gas producer, recently surpassing Russia. U.S. gas producers are pressing the U.S. government to give the green light for LNG exports to Asia and Europe, to access growing markets for natural gas at higher prices.

Gas is typically shipped via pipeline, but is impractical for reaching markets outside North America. LNG terminals super-chill gas to its liquid form and load it under extreme pressure into specially designed tankers for shipment overseas. Once at its destination, LNG must be re-gasified before it can be fed into pipelines for local distribution. The whole process can add up to multi-billion dollar projects.

By 2012, thirteen companies in the U.S. had filed applications with the Energy Department to export more than 17 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day, a number that increased to 15 companies in 2013. If all 15 company proposals were approved, they could export the equivalent of more than a third of U.S. domestically consumed natural gas. Large Asian economies such as India, Japan, South Korea, and China are signing long-term contracts for gas imports. However, by the end of 2015 LNG prices has plunged by 27 percent, outpacing the drop in the price of oil.

Global export terminals

Global LNG imports increased 9.4 percent from 2010 to 2011, to 240.8 million tons. Imports to the European Union are projected by industry analysts to grow 74 percent by 2035 as Italy, Poland, and Lithuania build terminals to receive tankers carrying gas in liquefied form.

According to LNG tracking groups in 2012, there are 10 LNG export projects in Australia, one in Canada (where several groups are reportedly considering other investments), two in Indonesia, and others in Libya, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, and Qatar. Major new gas finds off the coast of West Africa and in South America suggest other new exporters in the pipeline. Thirty-one percent of global LNG exports in 2011 were supplied from Qatar; Asia accounted for 63 percent of global buying.

Companies include Exxon Mobil and Chevron, which are building liquefaction plants and LNG export terminals along the coasts of Australia, Papua New Guinea, and Qatar. Royal Dutch Shell PLC is also investing big in plants that turn gas reserves into petrochemical products for export.

Canada

A dozen export facilities have been proposed along the B.C. coast, from Howe Sound to Prince Rupert. The Vancouver Sun believes it likely that three or four will proceed to construction. Canada is looking to export to countries beyond the U.S., where demand for imported gas has dropped.

In May 2012, EOG Resources, Apache, and EnCana Corporation announced a plan to begin shipping liquefied natural gas from Kitimat, British Columbia, in 2016.

In July 2012, Royal Dutch Shell plc and its three partners Korea Gas, Mitsubishi, and PetroChina applied to export up to 24-million tonnes per year of natural gas (a quarter of Canada's output in 2011) for 25 years from the British Columbia coast to Japan, China, and other markets. The export terminal is slated for Kitimat, B.C. -- separate from another terminal being built by Apache. Shell has declined to estimate the cost of the terminal, but TransCanada has pegged it at $12-billion, plus a $4-billion pipeline.

Pacific NorthWest LNG

Pacific NorthWest LNG is a proposed natural gas liquefaction and export facility on Lelu Island, British Columbia Canada within the District of Port Edward on land administered by the Prince Rupert Port Authority.

According to the company website, Pacific NorthWest LNG would liquefy and export natural gas produced by Progress Energy Canada Ltd. in northeast B.C. Both Pacific NorthWest LNG and Progress Energy are majority-owned by PETRONAS. Sinopec, JAPEX, Indian Oil Corporation and PetroleumBRUNEI are minority shareholders in the Pacific NorthWest LNG project.

China

Click here for a 2012 list of LNG terminals planned or operating in China, according to data released by the government, China’s three state oil companies, and reports by media.

EcoEléctrica LNG

EcoEléctrica is a Puerto Rican energy corporation headquartered in Peñuelas, Puerto Rico. Since the 2000s, EcoElectrica has the exclusive right to ship liquefied natural gas to Puerto Rico. Its main shareholder is GasNatural Fenosa. EcoEléctrica LNG is a joint venture between Kenetech Energy Systems and Enron Development Corporation.

Energia Costa Azul

Energia Costa Azul is owned by Sempra Energy International and is located in Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico and is the first LNG terminal located on North America’s Pacific Coast and delivers natural gas to customers in Mexico and the United States. Energia Costa Azul can receive and unload LNG ships that can hold up to 220,000 cubic meters (m3) of LNG. The Energía Costa Azul LNG terminal can regasify up to 1.3 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bscfd) of natural gas with room for expansion. Energia Costa Azul is also generates its own power, utility air, potable water and service water.

Proposed and exisiting regasification and liquefaction terminals

The U.S. has several LNG receiving and storage facilities but none of the liquefaction equipment required to prepare natural gas for export. Many proposed U.S. export terminals are at existing gas import terminals. By December 2011, six existing LNG import facilities were seeking export licenses.

The Obama administration has said it supports in principle US exports of liquefied natural gas, though specific new guidelines on exports await completion of a study by the Department of Energy. The DOE is required by law to quickly approve LNG export applications to countries with which the US has free-trade agreements, which constitute the bulk of the pending requests. But the DOE is delaying decisions on LNG exports to non-FTA countries -- including China -- until it completes two studies on the domestic impacts of the exports. The DOE believes the reports will be completed in 2013.

Cameron LNG

Cameron LNG is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sempra Energy (SRE), a California-based natural gas distribution and marketing company. It is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) receipt terminal situated on a 260-acre industrial-zoned site along the Calcasieu Channel in Hackberry, Louisiana. It is located 18 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and within 35 miles of five major interstate pipelines that serve nearly two-thirds of all U.S. natural gas markets. Construction at Cameron LNG started in August 2005 and commercial operations began in July 2008.

On January 17, 2012, the U.S. Department of Energy authorized Cameron LNG to export liquefied natural gas. The permit allows Cameron to ship up to 1.7 billion cubic feet a day of LNG to countries possessing free-trade agreements with the U.S. The permit is valid for 20 years after the first export shipment.

In February 2014 the DOE allowed Cameron LNG to export gas to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement with the United States.

In June 2014, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill 266 to 150 that will speed up the process of liquefied natural gas exports. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Cory Gardner (R-CO), allows the Department of Energy a mere "30 days to approve LNG exports to non-Free Trade Agreement countries after an environmental review of the LNG facilities.

Carib Energy

In 2014, the Carib Energy plant in Martin County, Florida, was granted a license to export 40 million cubic feet a day of natural gas to nearly any country, including those without a free trade agreement with the U.S. Carib is already exporting LNG in shipping containers to Caribbean and Central American countries. Carib Energy is now a subsidiary of the Crowley Maritime Corporation.

Corpus Christi LNG

Corpus Christi LNG was originally planned as an LNG Import Terminal and 23 miles of 48-inch pipeline, approved by FERC in April 2005.

On December 16, 2011, Cheniere Energy, Inc. announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Corpus Christi Liquefaction, LLC, was developing an LNG export terminal at the site, which was previously permitted for a regasification terminal. The LNG export terminal site is located on the La Quinta Channel in San Patricio County, Texas, and it is anticipated that the terminal would be primarily supplied by reserves from the Eagle Ford Shale, located approximately sixty miles northwest of Corpus Christi, Texas. The proposed liquefaction project (Corpus Christi Project) is being designed for up to 13.5 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). Cheniere has initiated FERC's National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) pre-filing review. The company plans for the first "trains," or facilities where gas will be liquefied, to be in operation in 2018.

On March 25, 2013, UK energy company Centrica agreed to pay £10bn (US $15bn) over 20 years for 89bn cubic feet of gas annually from Cheniere. The first deliveries, by tanker, are expected in 2018.

Cove Point LNG

Dominion Cove Point LNG is located on the Chesapeake Bay in Lusby, Maryland, south of Baltimore. It is one of the nation's largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facilities. Dominion acquired Cove Point from energy infrastructure company Williams on September 5, 2002, and began receiving shipments in the summer of 2003. In 2009, Dominion finished an expansion project that increased Cove Point's storage and production capacity by nearly 80 percent.

Dominion Cove Point received authorization on October 7, 2011, from the Department of Energy to enter into contracts to export liquefied natural gas. Under the authorization, Dominion is permitted to enter into multi-year contracts for up to 25 years with companies wishing to export natural gas to countries with free trade agreements. The authorization is for up to 1 billion cubic feet per day. Dominion would have to add liquefaction equipment at its Cove Point facility to convert natural gas into liquefied natural gas.

The Sierra Club challenged the DOE authorization. SC and Maryland Conservation Council challenged construction of the Cove Point LNG import terminal, and SC said their 1972 settlement with then owner Columbia Gas System Inc. bound Columbia and any future terminal owners to LNG imports -- not exports -- for use of the land, and requires the approval of the environmental groups for any expansions.

On Sep. 11, 2013, the DOE determined "that the opponents of the [Dominion Cove Point] Application have not demonstrated that the requested authorization will be inconsistent with the public interest and finds that the exports proposed in this Application are likely to yield net economic benefits to the United States." Subject to environmental review and final regulatory approval, the facility is conditionally authorized to export at a rate of up to 0.77 billion cubic feet of natural gas a day (Bcf/d) for a period of 20 years.

In September 2014 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved construction of the terminal. FERC declined to examine the broader climate impact of the fracked gas that Cove Point would carry. Cove Point is expected to start shipping in late 2018 and could export upward of 1 billion cubic feet of LNG per day, based on its DOE authorization.

Everett Marine Terminal

Everett Marine Terminal is located on the Mystic River in Boston Harbor, Massachusetts and has been operating continuously since 1971. Everett Marine is the longest operating import terminal in the U.S. The terminal is owned and operated by Distrigas of Massachusetts (DOMAC), a subsidiary of GDF Suez North America. It is reported that as of 2013 the terminal currently supplies about 20% of New England’s natural gas demand every year.

Freeport LNG

Freeport LNG Development, L.P. designed, built and operates the Freeport LNG receiving and regasification terminal in Freeport, Texas. ConocoPhillips has bought two-thirds of the capacity of Freeport LNG and Dow Chemical the remaining third. Construction began in 2005 and was originally planned for LNG import, but is shifting to exports.

Freeport LNG filed two DOE applications, each for 511 Bcf/year, in December 2010 and 2011, and received approval from DOE to export LNG to Free Trade Agreement countries in February 2011 and 2012. In December 2010, Freeport LNG also submitted a pre-filing request with FERC to begin the environmental review of the liquefaction project.

Freeport LNG intends to file its formal application pursuant to Section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) by August 2012 and will request that FERC authorize by 2013. Freeport LNG anticipates a construction schedule of approximately three to four years, beginning in early 2017.

On May 17, 2013, the DOE gave the green light to Freeport LNG Expansion and FLNG Liquefaction’s proposal to send 1.4 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas overseas for 25 years, allowing export to nations that do not have a free-trade agreement with the U.S. The decision came less than 24 hours after the Senate confirmed Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz, author of a 2011 MIT report on natural gas that advocated its export.

Golden Pass LNG

In October 2012, Qatar’s Golden Pass Products LLC received permission to export liquefied natural gas from the U.S. Golden Pass is 70% owned by state-run Qatar Petroleum International and 30% by ExxonMobil. The permit allows the company to export gas to nations that have free-trade agreements with the U.S. The partners will make a final decision about the proposed $10-billion export project after receiving regulatory approvals. The investment would pay for liquefaction plants with 15.6 million metric tons of annual capacity to be added to the existing Golden Pass LNG import terminal in Texas. Qatar is the world’s largest producer of LNG, and the project may become the Persian Gulf state’s first venture for selling LNG produced in another country.

Gulf LNG

Gulf LNG is an LNG unloading, storage and regasification facility located near the City of Pascagoula in Jackson County, Mississippi. Gulf LNG is owned by Gulf LNG Energy, LLC (GLE). The terminal includes a 5-mile sendout pipeline. The terminal become operable in 2011.

Lake Charles LNG

Lake Charles LNG is a liquefied natural gas plant in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

Lake Charles LNG provides terminal service for shippers by receiving LNG at the facility for storage and delivering such LNG to shippers, either in liquid state or gaseous state after regasification.

The Phase I expansion, which included a second ship berth and a new LNG storage tank that increased terminal storage capacity to 9 billion cubic feet (250,000,000 m3), was placed in service on April 5, 2006. Trunkline LNG completed the Phase II terminal expansion in early July 2006, increasing sustained sendout capacity to 1.8 billion cubic feet per day (51,000,000 m3/d) and peak sendout capacity to 2.1 Bcf/d. The Phase II expansion also included the construction of unloading capabilities at the terminal’s second dock.

Jordan Cove LNG

In 2009, FERC approved the Jordan Cove LNG import terminal proposed near Coos Bay, Oregon proposed by Calgary-based energy company Veresen. Environmental groups suggested import made little sense, given plans to build a natural gas pipeline delivering gas from Wyoming to Oregon. In September 2011, acknowledging little import market existed, the Jordan Cove project filed an application for an export license with the Department of Energy. Ohio Attorney General Kroger responded by asking FERC to set aside the license it gave Jordan Cove for an import facility and pipeline, saying an import-export project has the potential to harm Oregon’s environment and economy.

In December 2011, the Department of Energy granted the Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector Pipeline project a license to export liquified natural gas, making Jordan Cove the first project in 40 years in which developers proposed a new pipeline and terminal primarily to export natural gas. A 230 mile pipeline would stretch from the Klamath Basin to Coos Bay, crossing hundreds of streams and rivers, protected federal forestland, and private property. Developer Jordan Cove filed a preliminary application with FERC in February 2012 seeking pre-filing status to explore the feasibility of a liquefaction export project that would be built and operated at the same site. FERC granted that status.

On April 16, 2012, FERC vacated authorization of the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal, as well as the certificate to construct the pipeline, concluding that an export facility serves a different purpose than an import facility, and requires its own full analysis of environmental and economic impacts. Those federal approvals are now void. Jordan Cove said they are working on getting their export application ready by 2013.

On March 23, 2014, the US Department of Energy conditionally approved the Jordan Cove LNG project, permitting it to export up to 0.8 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day for 20 years.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission denied the project a permit on March 11, 2016. The reason given was that Veresen had not demonstrated the need for the project, and that the benefits from the project would not outweigh the harm done to individual landowners to justify the use of eminent domain. The pipeline's backers had not yet found buyers for the natural gas. On March 25, Veresen announced that they had found a buyer for the gas that would be exported, which was a consortium of Japanese utilities. They suggested they will appeal the decision by FERC, and they have 30 days from the March 11 decision to do so.

In December 2016 federal regulators announced they will not reconsider their decision to deny permission of the LNG terminal proposal.

Kenai LNG

Kenai LNG is located in Nikiski on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, and services the Kenai LNG Plant, which is owned by ConocoPhillips Alaska (70% ownership) and Marathon (30% ownership).

The Kenai LNG Plant complex includes import and export facilities to transport LNG. The LNG terminal has been operating for 40 years, shipping LNG primarily to Japan. The site's lease expired in March 2011, and remained inactive for over two years. A lease renewal was granted in April 2014 by the United States Department of Energy. The lease allows the export of the equivalent of 40 BCF of LNG over a two-year period.

Neptune LNG

Neptune LNG is an liquid natural gas import facility located in the city of Everett, Massachusetts. The Neptune facility is supplemented by a deepwater terminal located 10 miles off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts known as the Neptune Deepwater Port.

Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port

The Northeast Gateway Deepwater Port is located 13 miles from shore in Massachusetts Bay. The terminal is connected to the Northeastern natural gas grid through a pipeline lateral built by Algonquin Gas Transmission.

Oregon LNG

Oregon LNG is a $6 billion liquefied natural gas development project in Warrenton, Oregon, at the mouth of the Columbia River. The project began in 2004 as an import facility, but owner Leucadia has applied for it to become an export facility with liquefaction capabilities. They plan for construction to begin in 2015 and for the project to be fully operational in early 2019.

In July 2014 the Department of Energy (DOE) gave conditional approval to the facility to export liquefied natural gas to countries that don't have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S. It is authorized to export up to 1.25 billion standard cubic feet per day of natural gas for 20 years.

Sabine Pass LNG

On April 16, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission granted approval for Houston-based Cheniere Energy Partners to build the first liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal in the lower 48 United States. The $5 billion Sabine Pass LNG project to be located at an existing import terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, along the Gulf Coast.

Construction is expected to begin in 2012, with LNG exports to begin in 2015. Cheniere has signed a contract with Bechtel Oil, Gas and Chemicals Inc. to build the facilities. Cheniere said it has signed LNG supply contracts with utilities in the United Kingdom, Spain, South Korea, and India -- Cheniere has Energy Department license to ship domestic gas to nations that are not U.S. free-trade partners. U.S. gas producers will have the capacity to export up to 18 million tons of LNG annually, worth about $1.7 billion at current prices.

It was FERC’s first authorization of a project of this kind, FERC said in an accompanying statement: “Today’s order finds that the project can be constructed and operated safely and with minimal environmental impacts."

In its Sabine Pass order, FERC settled on the DOE's earlier findings that increased LNG exports "will result in increased production that could be used for domestic requirements if market conditions warrant such use, and this will tend to enhance U.S. domestic energy security." FERC also dismissed charges by the Sierra Club and the Gulf Coast Environmental Labor Coalition that the commission shortchanged its environmental and safety reviews, citing conditions that Cheniere comply with the federal Clean Air Act, including rules governing greenhouse gas emissions and the use of "best available" pollution control technology.

After securing a $2 billion investment in a February 2012 deal with private equity firm Blackstone Group, Cheniere is searching for an additional $3 billion to $4 billion to start construction. Cheniere is working with eight financial institutions to secure the additional financing: Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd., Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Credit Suisse Securities LLC, HSBC, J.P. Morgan Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley, RBC Capital Markets and SG Americas Securities LLC.

Southern LNG

Southern LNG is a re-gasification facility on Elba Island, in Chatham County, Georgia, five miles (8 km) downstream from Savannah, Georgia. The initial authorization for the Elba Island facility was issued in 1972. LNG shipments ceased during the first half of 1980.

On March 16, 2000, the project received Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) authorization to re-commission and renovate the LNG facilities.

On April 10, 2003, FERC issued an order authorizing the expansion of the facility, which included adding a second and third docking berth, a fourth cryogenic storage tank, and associated facilities. The expansion enabled an increase of working gas capacity and an increase of the firm sendout rate.

El Paso Corporation, the owner of the Southern LNG facility, announced the start up of the expanded facility, called Elba II, on February 1, 2006. The expansion cost approximately $157 million and adds 3.3 billion cubic feet (93,000,000 m3) equivalent

El Paso Corporation also applied for an additional expansion, on February 1, 2006, called Elba III, to double capacity again by 2010. On September 20, 2007 FERC approved El Paso's expansion for Elba III.

Floating terminals

In December 2013 it was reported that the U.S. Department of Energy had approved EOS LNG LLC’s and Barca LNG LLC’s applications to export LNG from a proposed floating liquefaction unit and storage tanker at the Port of Brownsville, Texas to nations with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the U.S.

FERC list of proposed terminals in North America

This is a list of proposed LNG terminals in North America as of October 2015, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission:

• Import Terminals: Proposed

1. Robbinston, Maine: 0.5 Bcfd (Kestrel Energy - Downeast LNG)
2. Astoria, Oregon: 1.5 Bcfd (Oregon LNG)
3. Offshore New Jersey: 2.4 Bcfd (Excalibur Energy – Liberty Natural)

• Export Terminals: Proposed

1. Coos Bay, OR: 0.9 Bcfd (Jordan Cove Energy Project)
2. Lake Charles, LA: 2.2 Bcfd (Southern Union – Lake Charles LNG)
3. Astoria, OR: 1.25 Bcfd (Oregon LNG)
4. Elba Island, GA: 0.35 Bcfd (Southern LNG Company)
5. Lake Charles, LA: 1.07 Bcfd (Magnolia LNG)
6. Sabine Pass, TX: 2.1 Bcfd (ExxonMobil – Golden Pass)
7. Pascagoula, MS: 1.5 Bcfd (Gulf LNG Liquefaction)
8. Freeport, TX: 0.34 Bcfd (Freeport LNG Dev)
9. Cameron Parish, LA: 1.41 Bcfd (Venture Global Calcasieu Pass)
10. Hackberry, LA: 1.41 Bcfd (Sempra - Cameron LNG)

• Export Terminals: Proposed Projects in Pre-filing

1. Plaquemines Parish, LA: 1.07 Bcfd (CE FLNG)
2. Plaquemines Parish, LA: 0.30 Bcfd (Louisiana LNG)
3. Robbinston, ME: 0.45 Bcfd (Kestrel Energy – Downeast LNG)
4. Jacksonville, FL: 0.075 Bcf/d (Eagle LNG Partners)
5. Brownsville, TX: 0.54 Bcfd (Texas LNG Brownsville)
6. Brownsville, TX: 0.94 Bcfd (Annova LNG Brownsville)
7. Port Arthur, TX: 1.4 Bcfd (Port Arthur LNG)
8. Brownsville, TX: 3.6 Bcfd (Rio Grande LNG – NextDecade)
9. Freeport, TX: 0.72 Bcfd (Freeport LNG Dev)
10. Corpus Christi, TX: 1.4 Bcfd (Cheniere – Corpus Christi LNG)
11. Plaquemines Parish, LA: 2.80 Bcfd (Venture Global LNG)
12. Nikiski, AK: 2.55 Bcfd (ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, BP, TransCanada and Alaska Gasline)

• Proposed Canadian projects:

1. Kitimat, BC: 1.28 Bcfd (Apache Canada Ltd.)
2. Douglas Island, British Colombia: 0.25 Bcfd (BC LNG Export Cooperative)
3. Prince Rupert Island, BC: 2.74 Bcfd (Pacific Northwest LNG)
4. Squamish, BC: 0.29 Bcfd (Woodfibre LNG Ltd)

• Potential U.S. sites identified by sponsors

1. Lake Charles, Louisiana: 2.0 Bcfd (Southern Union & BG LNG)
2. Cove Point, Maryland: 1.0 Bcfd (Dominion – Cove Point LNG)
3. Coos Bay, Oregon: 1.2 Bcfd (Jordan Cove Energy Project)
4. Hackberry, Louisiana: 1.7 Bcfd (Sempra – Cameron LNG)
5. Brownsville, Texas: 2.8 Bcfd (Gulf Coast LNG Export)

• Potential Canadian sites identified by sponsors

1. Prince Rupert Island, British Colombia: 1.0 Bcfd (Shell Canada)

Reports

• "North American LNG Import/Export Terminals: Proposed/Potential," FERC, updated Feb. 28, 2012.
• "Look Before the LNG Leap: Why Policymakers and the Public Need Fair Disclosure Before Exports of Fracked Gas Start," Sierra Club, 2012.

Resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• United States and fracking
• Opposition to LNG terminals

Click on the map below for state-by-state information on fracking:

External links

• FracTracker

External reports

• “Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Perspective on Exporting Liquefied Natural Gas from the United States,” Energy.gov, May 29, 2014