Oregon LNG

Oregon LNG is an American energy company whose sole project is a 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 is controlled by the US conglomerate Leucadia National Corporation, listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: LUK).

The site of the proposed bi-directional Oregon LNG facility is 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 site is currently being leased by Oregon LNG and consists of 96 acres (39 ha) on the Skipanon Peninsula, a man-made peninsula that was created in the 1920s out of dredge spoils. The proposed terminal would have 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. If built, the Oregon LNG project would include a marine shipping and receiving terminal, two full-containment 160,000-cubic-meter LNG storage tanks, and facilities for ship berthing and offloading.[1] The storage tanks would be 190 feet tall and would be visible from Astoria. A 2,100-foot (640 m) pier would jut into the river, where a basin would be dredged for LNG tankers to unload.^[1]

Oregon LNG project is developed in the general context of strongly increasing US and Canadian natural gas productions, while globally natural gas is increasingly used to replace coal in power plants as well as in various chemical and other industrial plants. This is especially the case in Asia, where the world's three main LNG buying countries are located, i.e. Japan, China and South Korea.

In the US, about three dozen applications for LNG export terminals have been filed with the Department Of Energy - DOE, located on all three coasts, East, Gulf and West. On the West Coast, in addition to the long existing ConocoPhillips Alaska LNG terminal in Kenai, Alaska, there are two LNG terminal projects, both located in Oregon, i.e. Oregon LNG in Warrenton, Oregon and Jordan Cove Energy Project in Coos Bay. In Canada, a few projects are being submitted for approval, mostly on the West Coast.

Many of these LNG export terminal projects require significant parallel pipeline developments to transport the gas from production fields to coastal terminals where gas is liquefied and stored for later export. In conjunction with these development, the world's fleet of large and sophisticated LNG carrier tanker ships is steadily increasing.

Oregon Pipeline

The Oregon LNG terminal would be supplied with natural gas through a new pipeline which is included in the project. The Oregon Pipeline would be 86 miles (138 km) long[2] 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 be buried three to five feet underground and would be constructed of plastic-coated steel.[3] The pipeline and the Oregon LNG terminal combined would affect an identified 47 landowners.

Gas Export Applications and Authorizations

In May 2012, Oregon LNG filed with the US Department Of Energy - 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 Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries. Authorization was granted to Oregon LNG for a 30-year period commencing on the earlier of the date of first export or ten years from the date the authorization is issued.

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. This second application has been under review and it is expected that the DOE will render its decision in 2014.

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.

History

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

Oregon LNG filed a formal application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in October 2008[5] 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.

Controversy

A number of interrelated controversies have surrounded Oregon LNG's lease of the Skipanon Peninsula land. 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.

Opposition

Oregon LNG is opposed by a number of groups, e.g. The Columbia Riverkeeper and Rising Tide who support reduced pollution, non-fossil fuel, renewable energy sources. The pipeline is also opposed by certain 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.

Local and state agencies, and tribes recently 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 Columbia Riverkeeper on these comments.

   Expert Report: Review of the Impacts of Oregon LNG’s Proposed Pipeline on Aquatic Ecosystems. Jonathan Rhodes, PhD. Planeto Azul Hydrology. January 12, 2015 [2]
   Expert Report: Review of the Draft Biological Assessment and Essential Fish Habitat Assessment for Proposed Oregon LNG Terminal Project. Richard Williams, PhD. Clear Creek Consulting. January 8, 2015 [3]
   Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) Public Comments Oregon LNG [4]
   Columbia River Estuary Study Taskforce (CREST) Public Comments Oregon LNG [5]
   Center for Biological Diversity Public Comments Oregon LNG [6]
   State of Oregon Letter to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) [7]
   Columbia Riverkeeper et al. Public Comments Oregon LNG: Corps [8]
   Columbia Riverkeeper et al. Public Comments Oregon LNG: DEQ [9]

References

1. Sickinger, Ted (October 14, 2008). "Another player enters LNG fray". The Oregonian.
2. http://columbiariverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Exh-3-Rhodes-Expert-Report.pdf
3. http://columbiariverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Exh-1-Williams-Expert-Report.pdf
4. http://columbiariverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015.1.16-ODFW-Corps-OLNG-JPA-final.pdf
5. http://columbiariverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015.1.16-CREST-404-Comment.pdf
6. http://columbiariverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Exh-4-Center-for-Biological-Diversity-Oregon-LNG-404-Permit-Comments1.pdf
7. http://columbiariverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015.1.16-State-of-Oregon-Letter-to-FERC.pdf
8. http://columbiariverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015.1.15-FINAL-Columbia-Riverkeeper-et-al.-OLNG-Corps-404-comments.pdf
9. http://columbiariverkeeper.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/2015.2.13-FINAL-Columbia-Riverkeeper-et-al.-OLNG-401-Cert-Comments1.pdf

External links

• Oregon LNG
• Oregon Pipeline