Ocean Cay LNG Terminal
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Ocean Cay LNG Terminal was a proposed liquified natural gas (LNG) import terminal in the Bahamas.
Location
Its proposed location was on the south side of Ocean Cay, a 95-acre man-made island in Bimini, Bahamas.
Project Details
- Owner: AES Ocean LNG
- Parent: AES Corporation
- Location: Ocean Cay, Bimini, Bahamas
- Coordinates: 25.41667, -79.21667 (approximate)
- Capacity: 6.42 mtpa, 0.92 bcfd
- Status: Cancelled
- Type: Import
- Start Year: Not applicable
Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day
Background
Ocean Cay LNG Terminal was a proposed LNG terminal in the Bahamas.[1] The facility would have been used to meet rising demand for natural gas in Florida through the planned 94-mile Ocean Cay Pipeline that would have connected the terminal to the Exclusive Economic Zone boundary between the Bahamas and the United States.[2]
The facility was planned to include two 160,000 m3 LNG storage tanks and be capable of accommodating LNG carriers up to 140,000 m3 in size.[2] The terminal would also include a liquified petroleum gas (LPG) terminal with a 40,000 m3 LPG storage tanks and be capable of accommodating LPG carriers up to 80,000 m3. The facility was planned to include three 15-megawatt natural gas-fired generators and a desalination plant to supply power and water, respectively, for facility operations.[2]
The LNG terminal's Environmental Impact Assessment was filed in September 2002 and was approved in October 2003.[2] Initially, AES anticipated receiving final project approval in 2008, commencing construction in 2009, and commissioning the terminal in the first quarter of 2012.[2] However, opposition to the LNG terminal from local environmental groups resulted in delays in the approval process.[2]
In August 2009, AES announced it would lease the project site to a Bahamas-based company.[2]
Citizen Opposition
Opposition to the LNG project grew after approval of the environmental impact statement. In 2005, environmental advocacy group ReEarth led a national petition against the LNG project.[3] Citizen and environmental advocates cited concerns about the potential marine pollution from chemical run-off, coral reef and sea bed damage from pipelines, and inadequate regulatory oversight.[3]
According to United States Embassy cables leaked by Wikileaks, growing citizen opposition to the LNG terminal led the Bahamian government to delay approving of the project, eventually leading it be scrapped.[4] In one cable, a U.S. embassy official expressed frustration with delays at the planned LNG terminal, stating "Government ministers have been promising a decision 'in a few weeks' for nearly two years. Even for the consensus-driven society of The Bahamas, the LNG debate has been long, protracted, and increasingly bitter."[4]
Multiple cables show that project developer AES Corporation grew increasingly frustrated with delays in getting final approval for the project, first under Prime Minister Perry G. Christie and then under his successor Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham.[4]
The Bahamian government's primary LNG proponent, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller, alleged in a radio interview that environmental organization Re-Earth was successful at gaining media attention because its leader Sam Duncombe was white.[4]
Articles and resources
References
- ↑ Ocean Cay LNG Terminal, GIIGNL, accessed April 2017
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Ocean Cay LNG Terminal and Pipeline, Bahamas, Hydrocarbons Technology, accessed September 2017
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 LNG Opposition Mounts, Bahamas B2B, 12 Apr. 2005
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Failed diplomacy in LNG bid, The Nassau Guardian, 24 Jun. 2011
