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Company
committed to delivery of safe, reliable and affordable
energy to Pacific Northwest
ASTORIA, OR – June 15, 2006 – Clearing another major milestone with the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
(FERC), executives at NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc. today
announced that the Bradwood Landing LLC application to
construct and operate a liquefied natural gas receiving
terminal at Bradwood Landing on the Columbia River in Oregon
has been formally noticed by the FERC. FERC's official
public notice now starts the "clock ticking" on FERC's
comprehensive review process.
"This action by the federal government marks the next step in bringing a safe, affordable and environmentally superior source of energy to Oregon and Washington, critical to the economic growth and vitality of the region," said Paul Soanes, president of NorthernStar. "Bradwood Landing means clean and reliable energy, community partnership and jobs in the Pacific Northwest."
The mandatory FERC filing process is part of the agency's structured federal permitting schedule. Bradwood Landing's application will be available for review by all stakeholders involved in the planning and development of the Bradwood Landing site. Members of the community, as well as state and federal regulators, will review project details and provide comment and feedback. At this time, Bradwood Landing is the only natural gas terminal project in the Pacific Northwest that has advanced to this stage of the FERC licensing process.
"Bradwood Landing will meet or exceed all federal, state and local safety and environmental requirements -- which we look forward to demonstrating during the government's rigorous and thorough public review process," said NorthernStar Natural Gas C.E.O. William "Si" Garrett, a retired Captain in the U.S. Navy's Nuclear Submarine Fleet. "We are committed to a transparent process, and we are engaging the local community to build meaningful partnerships with individuals and organizations along both sides of the Columbia River."
"This is an important step forward in building a stronger energy future for the region," said Keith White, Managing Director for gas operations at NW Natural. "This facility will connect Oregon and Washington to the growing world-wide marketplace for natural gas, and in doing so, will help ensure our customers have access to adequate supplies at the most competitive prices."
Over the past year, NorthernStar and FERC have received substantial comments from the public, and federal and state agencies, on Bradwood Landing's draft application for the natural gas facility. The formal application by Bradwood Landing seeks to address the concerns already raised in those comments. This summer, FERC will prepare and issue its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the facility, a process that will involve solicitation by FERC of additional public comment on the recently filed formal application.
It is estimated that the construction of the Bradwood Landing facility will create 450 construction jobs in Oregon and Washington over the three year construction period, and when completed, the facility will employ 65 full time workers. The facility will provide energy to meet the rapidly expanding energy needs of both Washington and Oregon, two of the country's fastest growing states.
"The NorthernStar natural gas project would provide Pacific Northwest consumers with access to major new global supplies of natural gas," explained Ed Finklea, counsel to the Northwest Industrial Gas Users (NWIGU). "The Bradwood Landing marine terminal and pipeline would deliver those natural gas supplies into the heart of the Pacific Northwest, close to our markets and our region's storage facilities. Our region needs access to new natural gas supplies to meet the growth in demand for natural gas in our homes, our businesses, and for electric generation. Industrial gas consumers are hopeful that an LNG terminal in the heart of the Pacific Northwest would provide all regional gas consumers with real price relief by giving consumers access to global natural gas markets to supplement North American supplies."
With growing community support in Southwest Washington and Oregon's Clatsop County, Bradwood Landing's FERC application filing for the natural gas facility continues the company's leadership position in bringing a natural gas site to the Pacific Northwest. NorthernStar has obtained strong financial backing from investment firm Matlin Patterson, as well as successfully completing a $100 million private offering of convertible notes to qualified institutional buyers.
About NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc.
NorthernStar has an experienced management team with significant project development experience, having been involved in the development of more than 50 energy infrastructure projects with an aggregate investment of over $15 billion - including involvement in the development, construction or operation of nine LNG projects worldwide.
NorthernStar Natural Gas was founded to develop, build, own and operate LNG receiving/importation terminals on the West Coast of the United States. The ownership of the company's initial LNG projects was consolidated in March 2006 to take advantage of project portfolio diversification, economies of scale and greater access to capital, and to offer multiple receiving points to customers. NorthernStar's projects, when complete, will provide natural gas suppliers with direct access to major West Coast demand centers, and provide the region with direct access to a low cost reliable source of new gas supply.
About NW Natural and Northwest Industrial Gas Users
NW Natural, a local distribution company serving 625,000 residential and business customers in Oregon and southwest Washington, expects to be a purchaser of natural gas supplies delivered by the Bradwood Landing LNG facility.
NWIGU is a nonprofit association comprised of thirty-two end-users of natural gas with major facilities in the states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. NWIGU members include diverse industrial interests, including food processing, pulp and paper, wood products, electric generation, aluminum, steel, chemicals, electronics and aerospace. The association provides an information service to its members and participates in various regulatory matters that affect member interests. Mr. Finklea is a partner with the law firm Cable Huston Benedict Haagensen & Lloyd.
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