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Energy World : Senators push to speed LNG approvals​

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08/22/2018 | 07:48pm CEST
Aug. 22--Louisiana'sU.S. senators are pushing federal regulators to speed the permitting process for liquefied natural gas export operations, including one planned for Port Fourchon.
Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy joined half a dozen other Republican senators in sending a letter today to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Kevin McIntyre.
It follows McIntyre's discussion June 12 during a hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
"During the hearing, you received several questions about the status and timing of LNG export project applications currently before the commission," the letter reads. "We were encouraged by your statements regarding the need for timely processing of pending LNG export applications. However, we would like clarification concerning FERC's current efforts to address resource constraints."
Among questions the senators ask in the letter:
* What steps is the commission taking to make sure it has sufficient staff and consultants available to complete the review of pending LNG export project applications expeditiously?
* What steps is the agency taking to streamline internal processes for dealing with LNG permits, as McIntyre suggested during the hearing?
* How does the commission, the lead agency in the process, plan to work with other state and federal agencies to ensure that their participation is "timely and constructive and that their reviews are conducted concurrently?"
Among projects seeking permits from the commission and other federal agencies are Fourchon LNG's planned $888 million liquefied natural gas plant and export terminal at the oilfield hub in south Lafourche. Though no timetable has been set, the company, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Energy World, says it expects to create about 500 jobs during construction and another 150 jobs over the terminal's operating life.
Announced in January 2017, the LNG terminal's price tag makes it the largest single initial investment in the history of both Port Fourchon and Lafourche Parish, officials said.
About a year ago, the company began the lengthy review process necessary to begin construction. Officials said they expect the process to take several years.
Industry officials and some members of Congress have long criticized the permitting process for LNG plants as cumbersome, complex and overly time-consuming. President Donald Trump vowed last summer to "unleash American energy" and, frustrated with what he called a "bureaucratic maze" for infrastructure projects, promised to reduce environmental reviews to "a few simple pages."
Between 2010 and 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission received 17 applications to build LNG facilities but only issued decisions for three, all approvals, according to a report the Government Accountability Office prepared in September 2014 for the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
Of those, two are in the Lake Charles area, projects that have sparked an economic boom there, and one is in Freeport, Texas.
"FERC's review of applications to construct LNG export facilities can take two to three years or more," the GAO report says. "FERC officials said that these reviews are lengthy because of the complexity of the facilities and number of permits and reviews required by federal and state law."
The report notes that approvals are also required from other agencies, including the US Energy Department. And other projects have been delayed amid opposition from environmentalists or community activists who have raised concerns about safety, residents' health or impact on fisheries.
Other senators signing the letter to McIntyre are John Barrasso of Wyoming, Ted Cruz of Texas, Cory Gardner of Colorado, James Inhofe of Oklahoma, James Risch of Idaho and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska.