The Sierra Club asked the U.S. Department of Energy to reject a request by the developer of the Jordan Cove LNG project to alter a conditional export license granted during the stalled $10 billion venture's first attempt through the federal permitting process.
The Pembina Pipeline Corp.-led Jordan Cove in February asked the DOE to increase the volume of LNG it is allowed to export to countries without free trade agreements with the U.S. to 1.08 Bcf/d from the 0.8 Bcf/d granted in a 2014 conditional authorization. The developer also asked regulators to extend the deadlines established in the conditional non-FTA and final FTA approvals, which require Jordan Cove to begin exporting LNG no later than 2021.
The Sierra Club, which has made a practice of challenging nearly all LNG export projects' applications with the DOE, said the agency should revisit Jordan Cove's conditional authorization to consider the cumulative impact of those exports in light of new LNG export volumes that have been approved since the order was initially issued. The environmental group also argued that extending the deadline for first export would undermine the "DOE's ability to accurately evaluate future applications" because Jordan Cove is still a "speculative project."
The DOE no longer issues conditional export authorizations for LNG projects. Under current rules, DOE approvals for exports to countries with free trade agreements with the U.S. are almost automatic, while non-FTA exports require the agency to consider the shipments to be in the public interest. The agency has issued final non-FTA authorizations for a total of 23 Bcf/d of natural gas in the form of LNG.
While the DOE is tasked with approving the export of LNG, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is responsible for permitting the infrastructure that supports LNG exports. FERC in March 2016 rejected the Jordan Cove LNG project because of what regulators said was a lack of commercial need for the related Pacific Connector gas pipeline. The developer is now again seeking approval for a slightly modified version of the LNG export facility and roughly 230-mile pipeline that connects to it.
