LNG projects clear US FERC staff environment review

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
staff on Friday said two proposed liquefied natural gas import
terminals on the Mississippi coast would not significantly harm
the environment, clearing a major hurdle for the projects to
win final approval from the agency.

The proposed LNG Clean Energy Project that would be located
in the Port of Pascagoula would be able to send out up to 1.5
billion cubic feet of gas a day.

The $450 million terminal, which would be operated by the
Houston-based private investor group Gulf LNG Energy LLC, would
be able to handle 150 LNG tankers a year.

Separately, Chevron Corp’s Casotte Landing LNG project
would be located next to the company’s Pascagoula refinery and
will process imported LNG for distribution to industrial,
commercial and residential customers in Mississippi and the
Southeast region, including the growing Florida market.

The terminal would be able to send out 1.3 billion cubic
feet of LNG a day.

The two LNG projects will be voted on at a later meeting of
the FERC’s commissioners. The operators of the projects plan to
have them in service in 2009.

The United States must import much more LNG over the next
15 years to keep up with growing natural gas demand, especially
from power plants that are fueled by gas.

LNG is natural gas altered for transportation aboard
special tankers. The gas, when cooled to minus 259 degrees
Fahrenheit (minus 162 Celsius), changes into a liquid and
shrinks to less than 1/600 of its original volume.

Upon arrival at a terminal, the LNG is returned to a
gaseous state and fed into pipelines to take to homes and
industries nationwide.