Oregon LNG Export Project Clears Hurdle

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the proposed Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline in Oregon, project developer Pembina Pipeline Corp. reported.

According to Pembina, Jordan Cove is the first natural gas export facility on the U.S. West Coast to win FERC approval.

“We appreciate FERC’s science-based approach to their review,” Harry Anderson, senior vice president and chief legal officer for Pembina, commented in a written statement emailed to Rigzone following FERC’s 2-1 decision. “The approval emphasizes yet again that Jordan Cove is environmentally responsible and is a project that should be permitted given a prudent regulatory and legal process was undertaken.”

Pembina stated that, since acquiring the Jordan Cove project in 2017, it has sought various local, state and federal regulatory approvals. The project entails building an LNG export terminal in Coos Bay, Ore., that would source gas from the Malin, Ore., gas pricing hub, ultimately providing Rockies Basin gas producers access to Asian markets – without the need for LNG carriers to transit the Panama Canal. The 229-mile (369-kilometers) Pacific Connector pipeline crossing four Southern Oregon counties would carry gas from Malin to the Coos Bay liquefaction facility, Pembina noted.

Pembina contends Jordan Cove “represents a significant opportunity to bring tremendous economic opportunity to bring tremendous economic benefits to the State of Oregon and Western Colorado and make a substantial contribution to addressing global climate change by replacing coal in Asia.”

A pro-LNG development organization comprising sovereign tribal nations, states and counties in the U.S. and Mexico applauded FERC’s decision.

“This important step forward represents much more than permission to build an LNG facility,” commented Andrew Browning, president and CEO of the Western States and Tribal Nations (WSTN) Natural Gas Initiative, remarked in a written statement emailed to Rigzone. “This represents a decades-long path to creating jobs in construction, maintenance and operations throughout the western North American natural gas supply chain, as well as steady tax revenue and economic opportunities for rural communities and sovereign tribes in producing regions.”

The WSTN official also touted Jordan Cove LNG’s environmental benefits for its potential customers.

“It also represents a way to help our friends and allies in Asia cut their emissions,” Browning stated. “The environmental gains that Jordan Cove and other LNG projects can help realize globally cannot be overstated. Over the last decade, the move to natural gas from higher-emission fuels has cut global emissions by the equivalent of 57 percent of South America’s entire emissions output.”

Browning also referenced the LNG market amid current events.

“At a time of global uncertainty over Coronavirus and oil and gas prices, we can be certain that demand for LNG over the longer term is not slow,” he noted. “It grew nearly 13 percent last year, and demand is expected to double by 2040 – with Asia accounting for 70 percent of that.”

FERC’s 204-page order is available on the commission’s website.

To contact the author, email mveazey@rigzone.com.