Commonwealth LNG pushes back against flurry of environmental group opposition

As it seeks commercial support for its project and a permit certificate authorizing it to build, Commonwealth LNG asked US regulators in a submission filed Aug. 18 to reject environmental groups' objections to the proposal.

An amendment to change the design for the Louisiana terminal's storage tanks is being used by the groups to question the entire project, Commonwealth argued.

The developer also recently addressed regulators' latest environmental questions, as it hopes to keep the process on track. Amid a crowded field of US LNG export projects, Commonwealth LNG is looking to build momentum for the 8.4 million mt/year facility as it targets a final investment decision in late 2022 and shipping its first LNG in 2025.

Strong price trends in end-user markets continue to support near full utilization at existing US liquefaction facilities. For new facilities that are being proposed, some have seen a lift in commercial activity, though others have continued to struggle. Some projects have been delayed, paused or scrapped.

Earlier in August, Commonwealth LNG said it had signed a preliminary agreement with Bangladesh's Summit Oil & Shipping to potentially contract for up to 1 million mt/year of LNG from the proposed facility.

The memorandum of understanding was the first deal announced by the developer since it issued a tender for terminal supplies in January with plans to execute contracts by the end of June, a targeted deadline that came and went without results being announced.

Environmental groups, meanwhile, have aggressively opposed growth of LNG projects along the US Gulf Coast , even as some LNG developers seek to shore up their green credentials with carbon mitigation. In a statement Aug. 18, the Sierra Club and other groups said they would be attending a meeting of an advisory council for the Environmental Protection Agency to express concern about the fossil fuel industry's proposed expansion of shale gas exports.

In its response to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to protests against its application to modify its LNG storage tank design and capacity, Commonwealth LNG argued that the objections were more about the company's original application two years ago and, therefore, should be rejected for being untimely.

In an amendment filed in early July, Commonwealth LNG proposed to change the design of the proposed LNG storage tanks, increasing total working storage to 300,000 cu m. It said in its response to the latest protests that consideration of any objections now should be limited to that amendment.

"Between July 13 and August 9, 2021, despite the small scale of the modifications proposed in the limited amendment and the lack of prior interest or legal action in the project, nearly 150 individuals submitted comments opposing the project, nine parties submitted protests of Commonwealth's application, and 10 parties sought to intervene in the proceeding," Commonwealth said.

Commonwealth said it has already sufficiently addressed the technical merits and environmental compatibility of the overall project.

"Protestors make no attempt to demonstrate that increasing the capacity of the storage tanks in any way renders the Commonwealth LNG project inconsistent with the public interest," the developer said.

Commonwealth LNG first proposed the project in August 2019 along with a 3-mile, 30-inch diameter feedgas pipeline. It argued the proposal responds to increasing global demand for an inexpensive, less polluting fuel source, and cited US Department of Energy studies finding increased exports were in the public interest.

Commonwealth has said its plan to build significant portions of the liquefaction trains and storage tanks offsite in modular fashion could shorten construction time to about three years instead of the typical four years or longer.