Federal regulators are delaying a decision on whether to allow a 232-mile liquefied natural gas pipeline on the Pacific coast and in specifically in Oregon. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission wants more time and has not given itself a deadline on whether to approve the application submitted Pacific Connector and Jordan Cove.
On March 11, it denied the project, although said this week that it would now reconsider. Upon construction and operation of their proposed facilities, Jordan Cove and Pacific Connector would be subject to the regulators’ jurisdiction under the Natural Gas Act. The line would handle 6.8 million metric tons a year of LNG, using a feed of about 1 billion standard cubic feet per day of natural gas for both domestic and international markets, says that March 11 order.
The Pacific Connector Pipeline would carry natural gas to the Jordan Cove LNG Terminal, where the natural gas will be liquefied, stored in cryogenic tanks before it would be loaded onto ocean-going vessels, the order says. It adds that the applicants state that the projects would enable natural gas produced in western Canada and the United States’ Rocky Mountains to serve markets in Asia, southern Oregon, and, potentially, Hawaii and Alaska
“We find the generalized allegations of need proffered by Pacific Connector do not outweigh the potential for adverse impact on landowners and communities,” FERC said, on March 11. It adds, “the record does not support a finding that the public benefits of the Pacific Connector Pipeline outweigh the adverse effects on landowners.”