Natural Gas Terminal Off Coast Is Proposed

CALIFORNIA – Australia’s Woodside Energy, hoping to overcome environmental and safety concerns, is expected to unveil plans today to place a liquefied natural gas terminal in the Pacific Ocean about 22 miles south of Malibu.

It would be the latest of half a dozen proposals to meet California’s growing demand for clean-burning energy by importing liquefied natural gas. A debate over the safest way to handle the volatile fuel has dogged all of the projects.

Under Woodside’s proposal, the gas would be pumped from Australian fields, supercooled to a liquid and transported in specially designed tanker ships. Upon arrival at the offshore terminal, the liquid would be turned back into a gas while still aboard ship, then sent via underwater and overland pipelines to the Southern California Gas Co. delivery network.

The terminal, which would be little more than a ship mooring with a flexible connection to the pipeline, involves no permanent structure that can be seen from shore, said Jane Cutler, president of Woodside’s Los Angeles-based subsidiary.

LA Times