Oregon LNG Terminal

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Oregon LNG Terminal, also called Warrenton Oregon LNG, was an LNG project sponsored by Oregon LNG, an American energy company whose sole project was this proposal to build a bi-directional liquefied natural gas (LNG) production (i.e. liquefaction), shipping, and receiving hub and a natural gas pipeline in northwest Oregon. Oregon LNG was controlled by the US conglomerate Leucadia National Corporation.

Location

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Project Details

  • Owner: Oregon LNG
  • Parent: Leucadia National Corporation
  • Location: Warrenton, Oregon, USA
  • Coordinates: 46.1764445, -123.9092231 (approximate)
  • Capacity: 1.3 bcfd
  • Status: Cancelled
  • Type: Import
  • Start Year: Not applicable

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

The project most recently known as Warrenton Oregon LNG began as the Skipanon Natural Gas Facility in 2004.[1] Calpine Energy initiated the project, signing a lease for the 96-acre (388,500 m2) site with the Port of Astoria, Oregon. In 2005, Calpine went into bankruptcy[2] and the project was subsequently acquired from Calpine in January of 2007.[3] by a partnership between original managers of the project and Leucadia National Corp.[4] Leucadia then held a majority share of Oregon LNG.[5]

Oregon LNG filed a formal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in October 2008[6] for the import portion of the project. Following the discovery of large shale-gas reserves in the United States and Canada, Oregon LNG modified the project concept and entered FERC's "Pre-Filing" process for the export portion of the project in July 2012.

The site of the bi-directional Oregon LNG facility was proposed in Warrenton, Oregon, on the estuary of the Columbia River. Warrenton is eight miles (13 km) west of Astoria, Oregon, and is less than 10 miles (16 km) from the point where the Columbia empties into the Pacific Ocean. The proposed terminal would have had the capacity to liquefy and ship up to 9.6 million tons of LNG per year and would also have the capacity to import and re-vaporize up to 500 million cubic feet of natural gas per day during regional supply emergencies.

For transport, the gas is chilled to approximately negative 260 °F (- 163 °C). This condenses the gas into a liquid, making it much more compact and economical to ship. At its destination, the LNG is transferred from cargo ships to a receiving terminal, which then warms the LNG back to a gaseous state to be piped to customers. A 2,100-foot (640 m) pier would jut into the river, where a basin would be dredged for LNG tankers to unload.[7]

Oregon Pipeline

The Oregon LNG terminal would have been supplied with natural gas through a related proposed. The Oregon Pipeline would have been 86 miles (138 km) long,[8] connecting the terminal in Warrenton with the Williams Northwest Pipeline at Woodland, WA. The pipeline would run southeast from Warrenton through Clatsop, Tillamook, and Columbia counties, and would cross the Columbia River north of St. Helens to Cowlitz County in Washington state. The 36-inch-diameter (910 mm) pipe would have been buried three to five feet underground and would have been constructed of plastic-coated steel.[9] The pipeline and the Oregon LNG terminal combined would have affected an identified 47 landowners.

Gas Export Applications and Authorizations

In May 2012, Oregon LNG filed with the US Department Of Energy's Office of Fossil Energy, an application seeking a long-term multi-contract authorization to export domestically-produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) up to the equivalent of 456.25 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year to Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries. Authorization was granted to Oregon LNG for a 30-year period commencing on the earlier date of first export or ten years from the date the authorization is issued.[10]

In July 2012, Oregon LNG filed with the DOE Office of Fossil Energy an application seeking a long-term multi-contract authorization to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) up to the equivalent of 456.25 billion cubic feet of natural gas per year to Non Free Trade Agreement countries for a 25-year period commencing on the earlier of the date of first export or eight years from the date the authorization is issued. The DOE Office of Fossil Energy conditionally approved the application in July of 2014.[11]

In January 2014, Oregon LNG filed with Canada's National Energy Board (NEB) an application for exporting about 1.3 billion cubic feet of gas a day for 25 years from fields in the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta to feed to its proposed LNG terminal site in Warrenton, Clatsop County, Oregon. NEB granted the project an export license in May of 2014.[12]

Controversy

A number of interrelated controversies have surrounded Oregon LNG's lease of the Skipanon Peninsula land for the Warrenton Oregon LNG Terminal. The land is leased by the Port of Astoria from the State of Oregon. The lease negotiated in 2004 by the Port of Astoria's director at the time, Peter Gearin, was for the same amount that the port paid to the State, a rate of $41 an acre, which was based on the State's standard approach of charging an annual rate of 10% of the appraised value. Project opponents repeatedly challenged this approach; however, since the property had been on the market for many years without ever producing any rental income for the state, these challenges were unsuccessful.[13]

Opposition

Oregon LNG is opposed by a number of groups. The pipeline is also opposed by some landowners who object to eminent domain laws that would force them to have pipelines buried on their properties. In 2011 the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 2700, which streamlined the permitting of such linear facilities amid a great deal of citizen objections and protests.[14]

Local and state agencies, and tribes submitted detailed comments to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), and to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality that describe why Oregon LNG’s project would violate environmental laws. Over two dozen fishing, landowner, community safety, and conservation organizations joined the organization Columbia Riverkeeper on these comments.[15]

In March 2016 a lawyer for the city of Warrenton in Clatsop County denied the Oregon LNG company's application for a permit to build the facility.[16]

Clatsop County has also denied permits for the feeder pipeline, which threw into question the project's ability to secure state land use approvals.[17]

The project was also in a dispute over its lease with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.[18] Oregon LNG had filed suit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, but withdrew it January 2016.[19] Corps claim it has nearly 60-year-old rights to the property. The builders of Oregon LNG claim the Corps abandoned the property.

Though the company had been pushing to build the bi-directional terminal in Warrenton, Oregon since 2012, the project was ultimately abandoned in April of 2016 after encountering a number of permitting obstacles; however, an Oregon LNG official told Warrenton Mayor that the company's decision to withdraw was due to funding.[20] The decision to cancel the project was announced several weeks after city officials rejected key permits for the project after years of opposition locally and across the state.

Citizen groups

Articles and resources

References

  1. ↑ Expert Report: Review of the Impacts of Oregon LNG's Proposed Pipeline on Aquatic Ecosystems, Columbia Riverkeeper, Jonathan Rhodes, PhD, 12 January 2015
  2. ↑ Sickinger, Ted (October 14, 2008). "Another player enters LNG fray," The Oregonian.
  3. ↑ Expert Report: Review of the Impacts of Oregon LNG's Proposed Pipeline on Aquatic Ecosystems, Columbia Riverkeeper, Jonathan Rhodes, PhD, 12 January 2015
  4. ↑ Expert Report: Review of the Impacts of Oregon LNG's Proposed Pipeline on Aquatic Ecosystems, Columbia Riverkeeper, Jonathan Rhodes, PhD, 12 January 2015
  5. ↑ Expert Report: Review of the Draft Biological Assessment and Essential Fish Habitat Assessment for Proposed Oregon LNG Terminal Project, Columbia Riverkeeper, Richard Williams, PhD, Clear Creek Consulting, 8 January 2015
  6. ↑ Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife comments on Oregon LNG's application for permits under Clean Water Act Section 404 (33 U.S.C. 1344), Rivers and Harbors Act Section 10 (33 U.S.C. 403), and the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act of 1972 Section 103 (33 U.S.C. 1413). Army Corps of Engineers Joint Permit Application NWP-2005-748, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Accessed via Columbia Riverkeeper, 16 January 2015
  7. ↑ Sickinger, Ted (October 14, 2008). "Another player enters LNG fray", The Oregonian. 
  8. ↑ Expert Report: Review of the Impacts of Oregon LNG's Proposed Pipeline on Aquatic Ecosystems, Columbia Riverkeeper, Jonathan Rhodes, PhD, 12 January 2015
  9. ↑ Expert Report: Review of the Draft Biological Assessment and Essential Fish Habitat Assessment for Proposed Oregon LNG Terminal Project, Columbia Riverkeeper, Richard Williams, PhD, Clear Creek Consulting, 8 January 2015
  10. ↑ LNG Development Company, LLC (d/b/a Oregon LNG) FE Dkt. No 12-48-LNG Energy.Gov, Accessed 16 July 2017
  11. ↑ Energy Department Conditionally Authorizes Oregon LNG to Export Liquefied Natural Gas, Energy.Gov, 31 July 2014
  12. ↑ $6B Oregon LNG Project Clears Another FERC Hurdle, Law360, John Kennedy, 10 August 2015
  13. ↑ Port of Astoria ex-director used influence to help girlfriend, state says, Oregon Live, Scott Learn, 21 October 2009
  14. ↑ "2011 Session: House Bill 2700," The Oregonian, Accessed 16 July 2017.
  15. ↑ "Public Health, Fishing, and Conservation Groups Blast FERC's Draft Environmental Review for Proposed Columbia River LNG Terminal, Call on Governor Brown to Deny State Permits," Columbia Riverkeeper, 4 August 2015.
  16. ↑ Ted Sickinger, "Feds reject Jordan Cove LNG terminal," The Oregonian, March 11, 2016.
  17. ↑ Ted Sickinger, "Feds reject Jordan Cove LNG terminal," The Oregonian, March 11, 2016.
  18. ↑ Ted Sickinger, "Feds reject Jordan Cove LNG terminal," The Oregonian, March 11, 2016.
  19. ↑ Ted Sickinger, "Oregon LNG withdraws lawsuit against Army Corps of Engineers," The Oregonian, January 11, 2016.
  20. ↑ Oregon LNG cancels plan for Warrenton terminal, The Oregonian, Kelly House, 15 April 2016

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