LNG Project Approval Process will be Streamlined | Russell T. Rudy Energy LLC
The Department of Energy (DOE) and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) have been criticized for the costly and time consuming approval process for Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects, according to an article in “Rigzone”. In response, new draft regulations were proposed in May, subject to a public comment period.
Last week the DOE announced the revised procedure, which eliminates conditional approval for LNG projects. Henceforward, a DOE ruling will only be issued after the FERC, or other authorized agency, has assessed the safety and environmental impacts of the proposed facility. FERC reviews can cost as much as $100 million, and tend to separate serious investors from those without the financial backing to actually build what can easily be multibillion dollar plants.
The new process will not affect projects which have already received conditional approvals such as Dominion’s Cove Point, Sempra’s Cameron, and Leucadia National Corporation’s Oregon proposal.
Cheniere’s Corpus Christi project will be the first one to get a permit from the DOE under the new process.
To read the article in its entirety, please go to www.rigzone.com/news/oil_gas/a/134545/US .
