Canada’s Pembina Pipeline will not follow through with plans to construct and operate a $10 billion gas liquefaction plant and associated infrastructure planned for the Oregon coast. The company told US regulators this week that challenges in obtaining permits from state agencies related to the project were the deciding factors in the move to scrap the project. The company asked the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to cancel authorizations for the LNG terminal and associated Pacific Connector pipeline, which would have carried natural gas from Canada to the proposed facility in Coos Bay, Oregon.
The proposed Jordan Cove LNG export terminal had a planned capacity of 7.8 mtpa. The design also includes a 229-mile, 36-in.- diameter pipeline from the facility to Malin, a city in Klamath County near the border between Oregon and California. The expected startup date had slipped for the project and was last thought to be ready for deliveries sometime in 2025.
Since its initial proposal in 2007, Jordan Cove had been contested by landowners, environmental groups, indigenous communities, and Oregon state officials. Opponents voiced concerns over the project’s climate change contributions, impacts on tribal territories and waterways, and consequences for tourism and fishing industries.
The project had been unsuccessful in securing a water quality certification and authorizations under the Coastal Zone Management Act from the state. Earlier this year, FERC declined Pembina’s petition to waive the state’s regulatory authority.
