Oregon LNG has proposed constructing, owning, and operating a liquefied natural gas (LNG) import facility located on the Skipanon Peninsula near the mouth of the Columbia River in Warrenton, Ore.

The $1-billion LNG regasification facility would include a marine receiving terminal, three full-containment 160,000 cubic meter LNG storage tanks, and facilities to support ship berthing and cargo offloading. According to the company, the facility's proximity to the Pacific Ocean would enable it to handle the largest tankers; it has already completed simulated dockings of 266,000-cubic-meter Q-Max tankers.

The proposed capacity for the LNG terminal would be 1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d), with peak capacity of 1.5 Bcf/d. The facility would use ambient air as a heat source, and C3+ separation would be permitted on-site. It would sit on the eastern side of the Skipanon channel on land owned by the Oregon Department of State Lands and leased to the Port of Astoria, which in turn has leased the 96-acre site to Oregon LNG for 65 years. The parcel of land is located between the Skipanon Waterway and Youngs Bay.

LNG carriers serving the facility would use an existing channel that is 43-feet deep and 600-feet wide.

When completed, Oregon LNG will operate as a tolling facility that will lease regasification capacity to industry partners.

Pipeline

Regasified LNG imported through the import terminal would reach markets throughout Oregon and the Western U.S. via the $300-million Oregon Pipeline, which will be affiliated with the LNG terminal.

The proposed 120-mile, 36-inch-diameter underground natural gas pipeline would connect the terminal to the regional pipeline hub in Molalla, Ore. At the Molalla Gate Station, Oregon Pipeline would tie into TransCanada's GTN System and Williams' Northwest Pipeline. The pipeline route would follow an abandoned Union Pacific Railroad easement as well as existing electrical transmission line easements.

Schedule

Oregon LNG projects that the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will issue the draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for the project by the end of 2010, with the final EIS slated for release by early summer 2011. The project developer anticipates obtaining FERC Section 3 and Section 7 permits later that summer, and it continues to move through other, state and local permitting processes.

The anticipated start of commercial operations for the Oregon LNG/Oregon Pipeline project is 2015.