Suez LNG NA LLC Large LNG tankers, operating under heavy security, currently supply the Distrigas facility off Boston Harbor.

The U.S. government has approved a pioneering East Coast offshore liquefied facility, to be located in Massachusetts Bay. When completed in 2009, it will supply Bay State and New England customers with up to 750 million cu ft of natural gas per day.

The U.S. Maritime Administration on Jan. 30 authorized approval of a deepwater port license for Neptune LNG LLC, Boston, a subdivision of Suez Energy NA Inc., Houston. The final license should be issued by late March. Offshore construction includes a buoy system, risers and 13.5-mile-long 24-in. diameter connection to HubLine, an existing subsea pipeline. Construction could top $200-million and is expected to start in spring 2009. Total project cost, which includes three 950-ft-long tankers to be built in South Korea, could reach $1 billion.

“It is an extremely important approval for the nation’s energy needs,” says a USMA official. “But more important is the fact that it is located offshore, which means greater transportation efficiencies for LNG delivery. It’s a lot easier to hook up there than negotiate into any harbor.”

There currently are two operating off-shore facilities in the U.S.—the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP), located 18 miles into the Gulf of Mexico; and the Gulf Gateway Energy Bridge, 116 miles in the Gulf off Louisiana. Nine licenses are under review—four off the California coast, two off Florida, one off Alabama, one off New York and one off North Carolina. Four more licenses for terminals in the Gulf have been issued.

There are two types of offshore facilities—the submerged turret loading buoy, like Neptune and Gulf Gateway, and gravity-based platforms like LOOP. “Turret technology is becoming the preferred facility because of the ease of construction, lower cost and it can be placed farther offshore,” says a USMA official.     

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Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney (R) on Dec. 19, 2006, approved two offshore terminals—the Northeast Gateway and Neptune projects. They are to be sited in federal waters 13 miles and seven miles, respectively, south-southeast of Gloucester, the well-known fishing port. The terminals lie just west of the Stellwagen Bank Marine Sanctuary and away from established shipping lanes. Each project agreed to provide $23.5 million in mitigation support to lessen the impact on the environment and commercial fishermen. Northeast could receive its approval shortly.

Massachusetts now receives LNG at the 35-year-old Distrigas facility in Everett. Four tankers supply the terminal with gas, primarily from Trinidad. That requires the large tankers to enter Boston Harbor and sail up the nearby Mystic River under heavy air, land and sea security. The terminal also connects into multiple natural gas pipeline systems and directly supplies New England’s largest powerplant, the 1,600 Mw Mystic Generating Station.

“The Everett terminal, which supplies 20% or 175 billion cu ft per year of New England’s natural gas, is critical to help meet existing demands, whereas the Neptune facility is needed for future demand,” says Julie A. Vitek, Neptune spokesperson. “LNG is much cleaner than other fossil fuels and it is not toxic, corrosive or carcinogenic. It is not transported under pressure so it is safer than other imported fuels.”

Vitek notes that onshore off-loading at Distrigas takes about 24 hours while the Neptune project would require four to eight days because the LNG needs to be vaporized and pressurized directly off the ship. A dedicated support vessel will patrol the site at all times.