LNG plant hopeful up ante with state

LNG plant hopeful up ante with state Australian energy giant Woodside Petroleum Ltd. has agreed to use Jones Act-flagged and staffed vessels as part of an effort to sweeten its proposed $1 billion liquefied natural gas project off the coast of Los Angeles.
   Hoping to avoid the fate of a string of recent failed efforts to build an LNG facility in California, Woodside has pledged to use U.S.-flagged regasification ships and American crews for the project. The U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration and labor unions have welcomed the move. The decision will provide Woodside with an advantage over others hoping to build an LNG facility because firms with Jones Act compliance are given preferential treatment by regulators.
   In May, BHP Billiton’s proposed $800 million LNG project off the coast of Malibu succumbed to a high-profile environmental campaign led by several Hollywood celebrities such as Pierce Brosnan, Martin Sheen and Halle Berry.
   Schwarzenegger rejected BHP Billiton’s proposal to build a large floating LNG terminal, effectively killing the project. Woodside has been promoting its LNG project, dubbed OceanWay, as “an environmentally sensitive, safe and secure solution for California’s energy future”.   
   The Woodside plan calls for a buoy type berthing system to be built about 30 miles of the coast, well outside any potential danger zone for the fuel product. Woodside’s plan is to build its gas delivery system about 45 kilometers off the coast off Los Angeles. Pipeline laid to the mainland would carry the LNG to the mainland.
   Public hearings on the facility are scheduled to begin in Los Angeles in mid-September.