In August, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) finalized a plan to rejig its process for approving LNG exports, including the elimination of preliminary approvals by DOE.
The plan also restructures the process for approval, stipulating that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) or another authorized agency must assess the safety and environmental impacts of the LNG export facilities before DOE issues a final ruling. The move appears to be designed to shift focus away from DOE, which has been criticized for moving too slowly on approvals of LNG export proposals. But there is a catch.
Applying for LNG export approval with the DOE costs about $20,000. With FERC, the process can cost up to $100 million. Pundits argue that the increased costs separate legitimate projects from pie-in-the-sky, highly speculative ones. Companies that have already received conditional approvals, including the Dominion Cove Point project, Sempra Energy’s Cameron LNG project and Leucadia National Corp.’s Oregon LNG project, are not affected by the new policy.
First in line for a permit from DOE under the new policy is Cheniere Energy’s Corpus Christi LNG export terminal project, following the completion of its FERC review in October. At the end of July, there were 43 LNG export project approval applications in the DOE system, although some of the applications are for the same project. The administration has indicated its support for the development of substantial LNG export capacity.
LNG also figures large in the plans for OSV operator Harvey Gulf International Marine. The New Orleans-based company is building a shore-based LNG fueling facility in Port Fourchon, La. The new facility will allow the refueling of OSVs powered by LNG and LNG cargo ships.
