FERC OKs gas terminal plan despite attack fears
Date: 22-Nov-02
Country: USA
Author: Tom Doggett
El Paso Corp. won FERC's initial approval to expand its Elba Island LNG receiving terminal near Savannah, Georgia, by about 80 percent to 7.3 billion cubic feet a day.
El Paso's Southern LNG Inc., which would operate the facility, wants to add 3.3 billion cubic feet of storage capacity at the terminal and boost the facility's withdrawal rate by 360 million cubic feet per day.
The expanded terminal would be able to withdraw 800 million cubic feet a day when finished.
The company wants the $145 million project in service in the summer of 2005 to help meet growing demand for natural gas in the Southeast from new homes and power plants.
The terminal was shut in 1982 for lack of demand, but received authorization last December to begin operating again.
FERC must review the environmental impact of the project before issuing a final decision. The commission said it would review concerns raised about the potential for attacks on the facility - one of four in the United States.
Environmental groups had urged FERC to consider potential terrorist attacks on the LNG terminal, arguing a possible accident or sabotage involving an LNG tanker or related facilities could lead to an explosion.
"The events of Sept. 11, 2001, demonstrate that sabotage is a very real possibility in the United States," The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy said in a letter to FERC. "LNG ships and facilities are tempting terrorist targets given their explosive nature."
LNG is natural gas cooled to minus 259 degrees Fahrenheit, which changes the gas into a liquid and compresses it for transportation aboard special tankers. LNG is converted back into dry gas for fueling electricity generating plants.
FINAL OK FOR DUKE ENERGY PIPELINE
Separately, FERC gave final approval this week to Duke Energy's Patriot natural gas pipeline project expansion over the objections of environmental groups that said it would adversely affect the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.
The approval means Duke can expand its East Tennessee Natural Gas pipeline system in Tennessee and Virginia into southwest Virginia and North Carolina through a new 94-mile (150-km) pipeline known as the Patriot project.
The $289 million project will be completed in three phases to provide fuel for new electricity generating plants in the region. Initially, it will have the capacity to transport 130 million cubic feet of gas a day (MMcf/d) by May 2003, increasing to 310 MMcf/d in November 2003 and to 510 MMcf/d in January 2004.
In southwest Virginia, opponents of the project argued to FERC the pipeline would have an adverse impact on the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway and the River Trail State Park. Critics gathered more than 4,500 signatures on a petition opposing the pipeline.
Farmers, environmentalists, hunters, fishermen and local politicians complain the pipeline would disturb more than 1,270 acres (515 hectares) of agricultural land and nearly as much woodland.
FERC said it imposed 69 "stringent" environmental conditions on Duke to limit any adverse impact of the project, including variations in the pipeline route.
The agency said it was persuaded to approve the pipeline after reviewing various federal government and independent studies that showed there would be an increase in demand for additional gas and electric power in the Southeastern United States due to a projected population increase in the region of 23 million people by 2010.
"Sufficient infrastructure must be in place so that increased gas demand from electric power plants and distribution companies can be served when needed and not subject to delays. Thus, we find that the Patriot project has a justifiable market need," the agency said.