Oregon LNG has completed a navigation and docking simulation for three liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker sizes -- 148,000 cubic meter (m3), 216,000 m3 (Q-Flex) and 266,000 m3 (Q-Max). The simulation, conducted at the Pacific Marine Institute in Seattle, Wash., demonstrates that the proposed LNG site on the Skipanon Peninsula in Warrenton, Ore., can accommodate the three tanker sizes.
"The simulation confirms that our site is well-suited for even the largest vessels, such as the Q-Max," said Peter Hansen, Oregon LNG chief executive officer. "The simulation also shows that the tankers can safely navigate the Columbia River Bar."
The location of the project site has other advantages. Because the site and the tanker transit route are distant from population centers, bridges and other major infrastructures, "the site is ideal from a safety and security standpoint," Hansen added.
As the only on-shore, LNG receiving terminal on the U.S.'s West Coast capable of accommodating the larger vessels, the Oregon LNG project will process 1.5 billion cubic feet per day of natural gas. The project will serve Oregon, Washington, and other western states through a new 120-mile pipeline.
The project successfully completed the Oregon land-use process in 2006 and is now undergoing permitting processes with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). Oregon LNG expects those permits to be issued by early 2009 and anticipates delivering natural gas to customers by late 2012.
Oregon LNG is a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving facility in Warrenton, Ore. It's sister company, Oregon Pipeline, is a proposed pipeline that will deliver affordable natural gas from the Oregon LNG facility to customers in Oregon, Washington and other western states.
