Posted by Chris on February 15, 2004 at 15:18:58:
OXNARD, Calif. (AP) - Houston-based Crystal Energy Co. applied to state and federal agencies to operate a $300 million liquefied natural gas plant eight miles offshore.
The application was filed Thursday with the U.S. Coast Guard and the California Lands Commission, which are responsible for overseeing the environmental review process.
Crystal wants to use Venoco Inc.'s decommissioned Grace platform to import liquefied natural gas by ship, convert it to vapor form and send it by pipeline to onshore facilities. It would be connected to a Southern California Gas Co. pipeline.
The California Energy Commission wants construction of liquefied natural gas plants on the West Coast to meet the growing demand. Some 90 percent of California's natural gas is imported.
"We have worked for nearly three years to create a project that has the least environmental impact while providing a needed and stable supply of natural gas to the region," Crystal Energy president William O. Perkins III said.
Using the existing oil platform would protect coastal land and lessen the effect on whale migration routes, the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary and military operations, Crystal Energy spokeswoman Lisa Palmer said.
Another liquefied natural gas plant has been proposed off the Ventura County coast by Australia's BHP Billiton, which would construct a $500 million floating terminal 20 miles off Oxnard. That project is under environmental review.