US DoE Amends Jordan Cove LNG Export Licence
The US Department of Energy (DoE), in an order issued July 20, has amended the export licence for the proposed Jordan Cove LNG terminal in Oregon by reducing the maximum annual export volume and delaying the approved start of exports by seven years.
Jordan Cove had requested the amendments in a filing to the DoE earlier this year to more closely match the physical facilities contemplated in its pending application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Ferc). It also said that exports from the facility were not expected to start “until the first half of 2024”, well beyond the 2021 start date in its existing export licence.
Originally intended as a 9mn metric tons/year (mt/yr) liquefaction terminal – a project which was denied by Ferc – Jordan Cove is now configured to export a maximum of 7.8mn mt/yr of LNG using mid-scale liquefaction technology.
In its new order, the DoE reduced the maximum annual export volume to 395bn ft3/year from 438bn ft3/year and set the allowed start of the 30-year export term to “the earlier of the date of first export or 10 years from the date of this amended authorization (July 20, 2028).”
Canada’s Pembina Pipeline, which acquired Jordan Cove when it bought Veresen in 2017, said in releasing its 2Q 2018 results August 2 that it expected a US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ruling on the Jordan Cove LNG project - including the companion Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline - in the second half of 2019. “Pembina continues to anticipate first gas in 2024, pending the receipt of the necessary regulatory approvals and other requirements,” it said.