|
What are the economic benefits to the Pacific Northwest of an LNG receiving terminal?
- Increased regional employment of between 5,100 and 20,300 jobs.
- Increased household income of between $51 and $215 million.
Increasing the amount of natural gas delivered to the Northwest would:
- Prevent the regional economy from the effects of a lessening gas supply; and
- Stimulate the economy, particularly in several high value added exporting industries which typically pay wages well above the regional average.
- With a stable supply of natural gas, Northwest industries that rely on it such as pulp and paper mills, food processors, aerospace firms and other manufactures would have a secure energy future enabling them to compete and grow.
- Likewise, Northwest households would have higher disposable income (which would create a positive ripple effect through the regional economy) because they would have to spend less of their incomes on energy
What is LNG?
Once chilled to -260 degrees Fahrenheit, natural gas condenses to a liquid (note that this is achieved by temperature and not by pressurization) taking up 1/600th of its volume as a gas. Receiving terminals convert the LNG back into a gas, a process known as re-gasification. It is then transported through the natural gas pipeline system to industrial and residential consumers.
What are the properties of LNG?
- LNG is non-polluting.
- LNG is not stored under significant pressure.
- LNG is odorless, non-toxic and non-corrosive.
- LNG can neither burn nor explode.
- LNG is lighter than water, and its vapor (natural gas) is lighter than air above -160° F.
- LNG leaves no residue after it evaporates.
- To burn, natural gas must mix with air within a narrow range of 5 percent to 15 percent and find an ignition source.
Why does the Pacific Northwest need LNG?
Several forces are constraining the Northwest's gas supply outlook:
- The West Coast is the area of the Continental U.S. most distant from the main North American natural gas deposits of South Texas and the Gulf of Mexico meaning that transportation costs are significant.
- New pipelines such as the Rockies Express are under construction which will carry more Rocky Mountain gas (a major source of gas for the Northwest) to higher-priced East Coast markets. This will put upward price pressure on the cost of gas in the western states and reduce supply of domestic American Gas.
- Although drilling for gas in the U.S. is increasing each year, total yield from American gas fields is declining.
- While the Northwest currently receives much of its gas from fields in Alberta, Canada is using more of its gas domestically reducing the available supply to send south to the U.S.
Why build an LNG terminal at Bradwood Landing?
Why build an LNG terminal at Bradwood Landing?
- Sea conditions off the coast of Oregon and Washington are too rough for an off-shore terminal.
- The Bradwood Landing site has a more than 150 year history as an industrial site including use as a lumber mill, mill town and deep water lumber export dock.
- The vast majority of the site is already zoned as marine industrial property.
- By being 38 miles upriver, the Bradwood site offers a sheltered port and requires a shorter pipeline to connect with the existing natural gas distribution lines that run along the I-5 corridor.
XXX
|
