LNG

The US Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette has issued a final long-term order authorizing the export of domestically produced liquefied natural gas from the proposed Jordan Cove LNG Terminal at Coos Bay in the northwest state of Oregon.

The export permit, which had previously been conditional, follows the approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced March 2020 for the siting, construction, and operation of the Jordan Cove liquefaction plant and the related Pacific Connector Pipeline.

“The export authorization for Jordan Cove, the first US West Coast LNG project, will ease access to further position the US as a top supplier of LNG around the world,” said Secretary Brouillette.

“The issuance to Jordan Cove serves to further expand opportunities for US LNG abroad, particularly in the growing markets of Asia, and encapsulates what the Trump Administration has been working hard on for the past three years - providing reliable, affordable, and cleaner-burning natural gas to our allies around the world,” stated Brouillette.

The development company, the Jordan Cove Energy Project is owned by Canada’s Pembina Pipeline Corp. and it now has the authority to export up to 1.08 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas as LNG.

The DoE statement said the project’s natural gas will be sourced from both Canada and the United States and would be liquefied at the Jordan Cove facility for export to any nation worldwide, unless trade is prohibited by US law.

Calgary, Alberta-based Pembina acquired the Jordan Cove LNG project in late 2017 in its takeover of another Canadian company, Veresen Inc.

The project includes a 230-mile pipeline which would traverse four counties in Southern Oregon on the route to the liquefaction plant.

The liquefaction plant and other facilities are planned for a 200-acre site and comprise five small-scale Trains each with 1.5 million tonnes per annum of output for a total of 7.8 MTPA.

“As we work to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic, LNG exports are going to be one of the building blocks toward the United States’ economic recovery,” said DOE’s Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy Steven Winberg.

“The US has exported LNG to 38 countries, with this authorization to Jordan Cove, the United States can look to increase that number with expanded geographic coverage for LNG exports into key importing markets in Asia, providing enhanced economic opportunities both here in the US and globally,” added Winberg.

Jordan Cove has multiple facilities, including two full-containment storage tanks with total capacity of 320,000 cubic metres, gas treating infrastructure, an export jetty and access to more than 25 billion cubic feet per day of gas supply from Western Canada and the US Rockies.

The project’s Pacific Connector pipeline will have a 36-inch diameter with capacity to transport up to 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Feed-gas for Jordan Cove would be sourced at the Malin Hub, creating a new outlet for natural gas from areas such as the Rockies Basin.

The export plant is expected to be visited by about 120 LNG carriers per year and Pembina has signed preliminary accords with Jera Co. Inc. and Itochu Corp. of Japan for the supply of cargoes.

The Jordan Cove LNG export project in the northwest US state of Oregon and its Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline have filed a petition finding that the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality had waived its authority to issue certification for the project and they can now move forward.

Pembina Pipeline Corp. of Canada, the owner of the only approved LNG export project on the West Coast of the United States at Coos Bay in Oregon, has boosted its finances with an $800 million unsecured revolving credit facility.

With the addition of the credit note, Pembina now has $3.3 billion in revolving credit capacity and around $2.3Bln in available cash and unutilized debt facilities.

Pembina said the new credit line would be available for general corporate purposes, thereby providing additional liquidity and flexibility for its activities.

Pembina’s Jordan Cove LNG liquefaction and export plant in Oregon and its Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline project were approved in March 2020 by the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Pembina noted in its financial update that over the next two years, the company’s debt maturities are modest and include $73M in 2020 and $800M distributed across three instruments throughout 2021.

Calgary, Alberta-based Pembina acquired the Jordan Cove LNG project in late 2017 in its takeover of another Canadian company, Veresen Inc.

The project includes a 230-mile pipeline which would traverse four counties in Southern Oregon on the route to the liquefaction plant.

The liquefaction plant and other facilities are planned for a 200-acre site and comprise five small-scale Trains each with 1.5 million tonnes per annum of output for a total of 7.8 MTPA.

“In today's challenging and uncertain environment, ensuring ample liquidity is of utmost importance and I would like to acknowledge and thank our key lender group for their swift response,” said Scott Burrows, Pembina's Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

“We enjoy productive, long-term relationships with our lenders and value their deep understanding of our business,” added Burrows.

“Over the past two weeks we have taken decisive and unprecedented action to preserve our strong balance sheet, protect our ‘BBB’ credit rating and ensure we have the liquidity to fund our business until market conditions stabilize,” stated the CFO.

The LNG venture is only one of several North American projects Pembina is developing and they include the Prince Rupert liquefied petroleum gas export terminal on Watson Island in the Canadian Pacific Coast province of British Columbia.

That project is a rail terminal to move LPG from rail cars to ships destined for international markets.

There is no on-site processing or refrigeration, and smaller volumes for storage and movement require a smaller footprint relative to other energy facilities proposed on the West Coast.

However, Jordan Cove LNG has multiple facilities, including two full-containment storage tanks with total capacity of 320,000 cubic metres, gas treating infrastructure, an export jetty and access to more than 25 billion cubic feet per day of gas supply from Western Canada and the US Rockies.

The project’s affiliated Pacific Connector pipeline will have a 36-inch diameter with capacity to transport up to 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

Feed-gas for Jordan Cove would be sourced at the Malin Hub, creating a new outlet for natural gas from areas such as the Rockies Basin.

The export plant is expected to be visited by about 120 LNG carriers per year and Pembina has signed preliminary accords with Jera Co. Inc. and Itochu Corp. of Japan for the supply of cargoes. 

Pembina Pipeline Corp., the Canadian owner of the Jordan Cove LNG export project in the US northwest state of Oregon, has posted solid fourth-quarter earnings as it reported progress on the US liquefaction venture and expects a decision from regulators by year-end.

Canadian Pembina Pipeline Corp. said it anticipated a final decision from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on developing its Jordan Cove LNG export plant in the northwest US state of Oregon within a year as company earnings jumped.

Pembina Pipeline of Canada, developer of the Jordan Cove LNG export plant proposed for Coos Bay in the northwest US state of Oregon, is advancing with its plans to create a “world-scale LNG export facility to transport North American natural gas to Asia” and it was currently engaging with additional off-takers.

The US Coast Guard has completed its review with a positive report for regulators after conducting a waterway suitability assessment for the Canadian-led Jordan Cove LNG export plant proposed for Coos Bay in the northwest state of Oregon.

Pembina Pipeline Corp., the Canadian energy infrastructure company, said it was making more progress with a range of natural gas projects in North America, including the Jordan Cove LNG export plant and its affiliated Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline planned for the northwest US state of Oregon.

Pembina Pipeline Corp., the Canadian energy infrastructure company, said it was making progress with a range of natural gas projects in North America, including the Jordan Cove LNG export plant planned for the northwest US state of Oregon.

Veresen Inc., the Canadian energy company currently being acquired by Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline in an agreed US$7.5 billion takeover, has formally re-applied to develop a US LNG export plant across the border in the US state of Oregon.