Complete Q & A
 The Facility
Q: What is the Jordan Cove Energy Project?
A: The Jordan Cove Energy Project is a proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) import terminal and storage facility to be located on the bay side of the North Spit of Coos Bay, Oregon.
The proposed facility will include:
 A
receiving and off-loading terminal for an ocean-going
LNG vessel.
Two
onshore, state-of-the-art, full-containment LNG storage
tanks.
An
integrated natural gas-fired power plant capable of supplying
the modest electric requirements of the Jordan Cove Energy
Project.
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Q: How many people will the facility employ when fully constructed?
A: The Jordan Cove
Energy Project will employ up to 60 people. The jobs
will be long-term, family-wage jobs.
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Q: How many construction jobs do you anticipate?
A: The construction
of the Jordan Cove Energy Project will take approximately
three years, once all permitting and regulatory approvals
are final. The construction employment should peak at
about 1000 jobs.
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Q: Where are there facilities that are similar to the Jordan Cove Energy Project?
A: There are over 100
LNG storage facilities located throughout the United
States. Most of these facilities are designed to liquefy
natural gas and store LNG during the summer months then
to regasify for send-out during the winter months. There
are four such facilities in the Pacific Northwest (Plymouth,
Washington; Nampa, Idaho: Portland, Oregon and Newport,
Oregon).
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Q: How long will it be before the facility is fully operational?
A: The regulatory review process for the Project process will take up to two years, and construction will take an additional three years. Click here for a complete projected timeline of the Jordan Cove Energy Project.
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The Ships
Q: How big will the LNG ships be?
A: Depending upon
the point of origin the LNG vessels anticipated to deliver
cargoes to the Jordan Cove Energy Project are expected
to be between 85,000 and 160,000 cubic meters in size.
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Q: How often will the LNG ships call on the Port of Coos Bay?
A: Although actual
utilization will be determined by supplier commitments,
the facility is being designed to accommodate an average
of six to seven vessel calls per month.
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Q: How long will the LNG ships be in port?
A: It will take approximately
12 to 14 hours for an LNG vessel to offload its cargo.
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Safety
Q: Is the transport and storage of LNG safe?
A: The LNG industry has an exemplary
safety record, particularly because the industry works
under stringent design, operation and maintenance standards
and regulations. LNG has been transported on the oceans
for 40 years and stored in the United States for over
35, and there have been very few accidents. Most of
those, while occurring at LNG storage sites, were attributable
to some factor other than a release of LNG.
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Q: What is the safety record of transporting LNG?
A: Since England received
the first shipment of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) via
ocean-going vessel in 1964, there have been more than
33,000 LNG vessel voyages, sailing more than 60 million
miles without an accident involving loss of life or harm
to the environment.
The shipping and handling of any fuel – whether coal, gasoline, propane or LNG – engenders some element of risk.
However, the design and construction
of LNG vessels makes them the most expensive vessels
in the global commercial fleet. They are specifically
designed and insulated to transport the ultra-cold LNG.
They are double-hulled and multi-compartmented, which
means that it would be very difficult for the entire
load to spill, because several compartments would have
to be breached. Finally, multiple layers of internal
insulation limit evaporation of the LNG, and the “boil-off” – LNG that does evaporate – is captured and used as vessel fuel.
Since 1964, there have been just eight incidents reported on LNG vessels – six small spills on deck, one 40-gallon spill on deck, and one small fire caused by a lightning strike during routine venting. No injuries or deaths have been reported from incidents on LNG vessels.
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Q: What is the safety record of storing LNG?
A: There are LNG storage
facilities located throughout the world. Japan receives
more than 96 percent of its natural gas via ocean-going
vessel, and has 24 receiving terminals and storage facilities,
including four in Tokyo Bay. Korea, Taiwan, Belgium,
Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Turkey, the Dominican
Republic and the United States also have LNG receiving
and storage terminals.
All of these facilities have been operating for many years – some for more than 40 – and
none of them have experienced a serious incident. The
most serious LNG incident occurred in 1944 in Cleveland,
Ohio.
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Q: What steps will be taken to provide shipping and terminal safety?
A: The design and construction
of LNG vessels makes them the most expensive vessels
in the global commercial fleet. The LNG fleet has one
of the most exemplary safety records in the maritime
industry.
The Jordan Cove Energy Project is required
to take certain precautions that will make the vessel
coming into Coos Bay as safe as possible:
- The plans for
importing LNG to the Port of Coos Bay must be approved
by the U.S. Coast Guard. The Coast Guard will establish
escort requirements and regulated navigation area and
exclusion zones for the transit of an LNG vessel from
open waters to its berth and back out again.
- The vessels must comply with all
related elements of the new Maritime Security Act,
including a plan for preventing and responding to attempted
acts of terrorism.
- A member of the Coos
Bay Harbor Pilots Association will pilot each vessel
into and out of the Port of Coos Bay.
- The terminal
will be surrounded by a double fence and have 24-hour
video surveillance. When a vessel is in port, it will
be guarded 24 hours-a-day.
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Q: What government agencies regulate the activities of the import terminal and the storage facility?
A: There are many federal and state agencies that will regulate various activities at the Jordan Cove Energy Project. They include:
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
U.S. Department of Transportation
U.S. Corp of Engineers
U.S. Maritime Administration
U.S. Coast Guard
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Oregon Energy Facilities Siting Counsel
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Q: What codes regulate safety?
A: There are three
primary LNG-specific codes and standards that form the
basis of regulating safety and security issues for LNG
facilities in the United States. In addition to their
own requirements, these laws reference many other codes
and standards. The primary standards are:
NFPA 59A "Standard for the Production, Storage, and Handling of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)"
This standard was first developed in
the late 1960s and has been revised and updated by a
committee which includes a broad spectrum of experts
including government, US Coast Guard, US Department of
Transportation, insurance companies, fire service, etc.
It has been used worldwide and is either directly or
indirectly a part of the requirements of many countries.
NFPA standards are consensus standards and become legally
enforceable when adopted by an "authority having
jurisdiction". The federal government has adopted
NFPA 59A, with a few additional requirements (see 49
CFR 193) as the operative regulation.
49 CFR Part 193 "Liquefied Natural Gas Facilities: Federal Safety Standards"
The authority having jurisdiction for
LNG safety is the US Department of Transportation (US
DOT), including the very active participation of the
US DOT Research and Special Projects Administration (RSPA),
US Coast Guard and Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
in the NFPA process.
33 CFR Part 127 "Waterfront Facilities Handling Liquefied Natural Gas and Liquefied Hazardous Gas"
As the federal government developed
its LNG regulations in the 1970s, it became apparent
that a jurisdictional overlap developed between the federal
Office of Pipeline Safety, which had responsibility for
all natural gas facilities, and the US Coast Guard, which
had responsibility for all marine terminals. An LNG import
terminal has both the aspects of a natural gas pipeline
and a marine terminal. The resolution to this overlap
is that by 33 CFR Part 127, the US Coast Guard has jurisdiction
for ship operations, the marine facilities and the unloading
equipment. The remainder of the facility falls under
49 CFR Part 193. The requirements of these two codes are consistent.
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The Environment
Q: What will be the effect of the Jordan Cove Energy Facility on the environment?
A: The proposed Jordan
Cove Energy Project facilities will be subject to stringent
environmental review to insure that the construction
and operation of the facilities will have minimal environmental
impact.
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Q: What would be the environmental effects to fish and sea life if there is a release of LNG into the ocean?
A: There has never
been a significant LNG cargo release in the 40 years
since LNG has been transported via ocean-going vessel.
However, vaporizing LNG is not soluble in water and any
liquid released on the ocean would quickly evaporate,
so no possibility exists of water contamination.
LNG is non-toxic and it does not enter
into any chemical reactions unless it is ignited. Even
if it is ignited on the water, it would quickly burn
off. Direct physical contact with LNG might cause injury
due to the very cold temperature, but there would not
be any long-term residual toxic or harmful effects.
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