Offshore staff
(US, California)-Esperanza Energy, a newly formed subsidiary of Tidelands Oil & Gas, is evaluating the feasibility of developing an offshore, deepwater liquefied natural gas receiving terminal off the coast of southern California.
Although a specific site off the coast has not yet been determined, the area receiving the most speculation is 12 mi off the coast of greater Long Beach.
Esperanza has assembled a team of LNG, environmental, pipeline, and legal experts to conduct a project feasibility study. David Maul, former manager of the California Energy Commission's Natural Gas Office and president of Maul Energy Advisors, is one of the team members.
Maul says that his company's preliminary analysis suggests that a site offshore the Long Beach area would offer "considerable benefits" to California residents. "Before selecting a specific site for developmental consideration, we will confer with key local, regional, and state stakeholders," Maul said.
Michael Ward, president of Esperanza Energy, said of the development: "Our goal is to develop a LNG import terminal that can play an important role in meeting California's growing energy needs by providing competitively priced natural gas to supplement that which is currently transported into the state by long-distance pipelines."
Ward concluded by saying, "Esperanza will only pursue this project if it can be sited, designed, and operated in the safest, most environmentally responsible and economically viable manner possible. Our goal is not to just meet the environmental, public health, and safety requirements, but to exceed them."
Esperanza is not the only company investigating LNG options off the California coast. In January, Australia's Woodside Natural Gas, Inc. reported plans for an offshore sea-to-land pipeline off the coast. The project, known as OceanWay, will use start-of-the-art technology to convert LNG back to natural gas on board a ship. The ship, connected to an underwater buoy, would then transmit the gas through an undersea pipeline to existing onshore gas facilities.
As of January, Woodside was considering several sites off the coast of California. The company has recently announced a specific location for the OceanWay project, more than 20 mi off the coast of Los Angeles.
Under Woodside's proposal, the undersea pipeline will come ashore below ground in the industrial area next to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). The company reports that the onshore receiving facilities for OceanWay will be minimal.
Jane Cutler, president of Woodside Natural Gas, said that the company had three critical criteria in mind when choosing a site for OceanWay. "These were to minimize environmental disturbance, to maximize the distance from residential areas, and to ensure the site is a sufficient distance from shipping lanes and marine preserves.
"When a ship is delivering natural gas it will be over 20 mi offshore, over 5 mi beyond commercial shipping lanes and barely visible even on the clearest of days," she continued.
Woodside is now commencing with the permit application process and will seek approval from federal, state, and local agencies, such as the US Coast Guard, California State Lands Commission and California Coastal Commission. The company also plans to run an extensive community outreach program.
04/05/2006
