[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 137 (Thursday, July 17, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41685-41688]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-16829]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[FE Docket No. 13-153-LNG]
Waller LNG Services, LLC (d/b/a Waller Point LNG); Application
for Long-Term Authorization To Export Liquefied Natural Gas Produced
From Domestic Natural Gas Resources to Non-Free Trade Agreement
Countries for a 25-Year Period
AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, DOE.
ACTION: Notice of application.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy
(DOE) gives notice of receipt of an application (Application), filed on
November 26, 2013, by Waller LNG Services, LLC (d/b/a Waller Point LNG)
(Waller Point), requesting long-term, multi-contract authorization to
export liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced from domestic sources in a
volume up to 1.5 million metric tons per year (mtpa), which Waller
Point states is equivalent to approximately 70 billion cubic feet per
year (Bcf/yr) of natural gas, or 0.19 Bcf per day (Bcf/d).\1\ Waller
Point seeks authorization to export the LNG from the proposed Waller
Point LNG Terminal (the Terminal), to be located in the Calcasieu Ship
Channel in Cameron Parish, Louisiana, for a 25-year term commencing on
the earlier of the date of first export or five years from the date the
authorization is granted. Waller Point requests authorization to export
the LNG by vessel to any country with which the United States does not
have a free trade agreement (FTA) requiring national treatment for
trade in natural gas (non-FTA countries), and with which trade is not
prohibited by U.S. law or policy. Waller Point requests this
authorization on its own behalf and as agent for other parties who hold
title to the LNG at the time of export. The Application was filed under
section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA). Protests, motions to intervene,
notices of intervention, and written comments are invited.
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\1\ Applicants are required to provide volumes of natural gas in
Bcf, 10 CFR 590.202(b)(1), and therefore DOE/FE will address Waller
Point's requested authorization in Bcf/yr below.
DATES: Protests, motions to intervene or notices of intervention, as
applicable, requests for additional procedures, and written comments
are to be filed using procedures detailed in the Public Comment
Procedures section no later than 4:30 p.m., Eastern time, September 15,
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2014.
ADDRESSES:
Electronic Filing by email: [email protected].
Regular Mail: U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), Office of Oil and
Gas Global Security and Supply, Office of Fossil Energy, P.O. Box
44375, Washington, DC 20026-4375.
Hand Delivery or Private Delivery Services (e.g., FedEx, UPS,
etc.): U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), Office of Oil and Gas Global
Security and Supply, Office of Fossil Energy, Forrestal Building, Room
3E-042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Larine Moore or Marc Talbert, U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), Office
of Oil and Gas Global Security and Supply, Office of Fossil Energy,
Forrestal Building, Room 3E-042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9478; (202) 586-7991;
Cassandra Bernstein, U.S. Department of Energy (GC-76), Office of the
Assistant General Counsel for Electricity and Fossil Energy, Forrestal
Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202)
586-9793.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Applicant. Waller Point is a Texas limited liability company
authorized to transact business in Louisiana. Waller Point states that
its principal business address and registered office is in New Orleans,
Louisiana, and its principal registered address is in Houston, Texas.
Waller Point is a wholly owned subsidiary of Waller Energy Holdings,
LLC, a Texas limited liability company. Waller Energy Holdings, LLC is
a wholly owned subsidiary of Waller Liquefaction, L.P., a Texas limited
partnership. The General Partner of Waller Liquefaction, L.P. is Waller
LNG GP, LLC, a Texas limited liability company wholly owned by Waller
Marine, Inc. (Waller Marine), a Texas corporation. Waller Marine is the
developer of the Waller Point LNG Terminal, and is involved in
developing LNG terminals and LNG storage and transportation vessels.
Procedural History. On October 12, 2012, in FE Docket No. 12-152-
LNG, Waller Point filed an application proposing to export LNG to
countries
[[Page 41686]]
with which the United States currently has, or in the future enters
into, a free trade agreement requiring national treatment for trade in
natural gas (FTA countries). On December 20, 2012, in Order No. 3211,
DOE/FE authorized Waller Point to export domestically produced LNG by
vessel from the proposed Waller Point LNG Terminal to FTA countries in
a volume equivalent to 58.4 Bcf/yr of natural gas (0.16 Bcf/d) for a
25-year term.\2\
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\2\ Waller LNG Services, LLC (d/b/a Waller Point LNG), DOE/FE
Order No. 3211, FE Docket No. 12-152-LNG, Order Granting Long-Term
Multi-Contract Authorization to Export Liquefied Natural Gas by
Vessel from the Proposed Waller Point LNG Terminal in Cameron
Parish, Louisiana, to Free Trade Agreement Nations (Dec. 20, 2012).
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Liquefaction Project. Waller Point seeks long-term authorization to
export domestically produced LNG from the proposed Waller Point LNG
Terminal. Waller Point states that it is taking steps to build natural
gas processing and liquefaction facilities to receive and liquefy
domestic natural gas at the Terminal. Waller Point further states that
it has secured, via long-term ground leases, a site of approximately
180 acres of land located at the Gulf of Mexico entrance point of the
Calcasieu Ship Channel in Cameron Parish, Louisiana.\3\
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\3\ Waller Point states that the site continues north for
approximately 3,900 feet alongside the western side of the Ship
Cannel, and includes all of Irregular Section 29 and part of
Irregular Section 30, Township 15 South, Range 10 West of the
Louisiana Meridian.
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According to Waller Point, the proposed Terminal will consist of
liquefaction units capable of producing LNG up to a total export
capacity of 2.75 mtpa, of which up to 1.5 mpta of LNG (the equivalent
of approximately 70 Bcf/yr of natural gas) will be exported to non-FTA
countries if the authorization subject to this Notice is granted. The
Terminal also will consist of: (i) Berthing and accommodations for
multiple LNG vessels, as well as unloading facilities and other
features; (ii) a LNG storage facility having storage capacity up to
60,000 cubic meters; and (iii) associated utilities, infrastructure,
and support systems.
Waller Point states that, once the Terminal facilities are
constructed and operational, the Terminal will receive natural gas by
pipeline. The Terminal will be capable of natural gas treatment,
liquefaction, and export by direct transfer into off-taking LNG barges
or by transfer from the Terminal's storage tanks into off-taking LNG
barges berthed along the marine facilities in the Calcasieu Ship
Channel.
Current Application
Waller Point requests long-term, multi-contract authorization to
export LNG in a volume equivalent to approximately 70 Bcf/yr of
domestic natural gas (0.19 Bcf/d) from the proposed Waller Point LNG
Terminal to any non-FTA country which has developed or in the future
develops the capacity to import LNG, and with which trade is not
prohibited by U.S. law or policy. Waller Point requests this
authorization for a 25-year term commencing on the earlier of the date
of first export or five years from the date the requested authorization
is granted.
Waller Point states that it seeks to export the requested LNG on
its own behalf and as agent for others. Waller Point states that it
will comply with all DOE/FE requirements for exporters and agents as
set forth in recent DOE/FE orders, including registering each LNG title
holder for whom Waller Point seeks to export as agent. Waller Point
proposes that this registration include a written statement by the
title holder acknowledging and agreeing to comply with all applicable
requirements included by DOE/FE in Waller Point's export authorization,
and to include those requirements in any subsequent purchase or sale
agreement entered into by the title holder. In addition, Waller Point
states that it will file under seal with DOE any relevant long-term
commercial agreements between Waller Point and the LNG title holder,
once those agreements have been executed.
Waller Point further states that it has not yet executed any long-
term agreements or long-term export contracts, but is engaged in
commercial discussions with foreign off-takers to obtain all of the
available liquefaction capacity at the Waller Point LNG Terminal.
Citing DOE/FE precedent, Walker Point states that applicants are not
required to submit transaction-specific information with their
applications, but may submit such information when the contracts
reflecting such information are executed. Waller Point states that DOE/
FE has previously found that this commitment conforms to the
requirements of 10 CFR 590.202(b), which calls upon applicants to
supply transaction specific information ``to the extent practicable.''
Waller Point anticipates that either it, Waller Marine (the
developer of the Terminal), or individual customers who hold title to
natural gas (via a liquefaction tolling agreement) will bear the
responsibility for sourcing gas supplies for delivery to the Terminal.
Waller Point states that, through Waller Marine, it will commence
negotiations with certain natural gas suppliers for transportation
capacity and the required lateral pipeline to be constructed, once
commercial discussions between those suppliers and Waller Point
progress.
Waller Point proposes to source natural gas to be used as feedstock
for LNG production from the interstate and intrastate grid, at points
of interconnection with other pipelines and points of liquidity both
upstream and downstream of the pipeline. Waller Point anticipates that
the Terminal will be connected to multiple interstate and Louisiana
intrastate pipelines, which will enable it to purchase natural gas from
conventional and unconventional basins across the region, state, and
from virtually anywhere in the nation. Waller Point states that the gas
supply can be sourced in requisite volumes in the spot market or
pursued under long-term arrangements.
Public Interest Considerations
Waller Point contends that the proposed exports from the Waller
Point LNG Terminal to non-FTA countries are consistent with the public
interest under section 3(a) of the NGA, 15 U.S.C. 717b(a). Waller Point
states that it is seeking to export relatively small volumes of LNG,
particularly when compared to similar non-FTA export applications
recently approved and pending before DOE/FE. Waller Point states that
the export of smaller volumes of LNG has become economically and
technically feasible in recent years due to: (i) The increasing
domestic supply of natural gas, and (ii) the development of Waller
Marine's patent-pending articulated tug and barge LNG regasification
vessel arrangement. Waller Point asserts that the export of these
smaller volumes of natural gas, including its proposed exports, will
not have a significant impact on domestic supply, and will fulfill a
need that is not otherwise being met in the domestic or international
marketplace.
In support of its Application, Waller Point addresses: (i) The
domestic need for the LNG to be exported, (ii) the impact on domestic
natural gas market prices, and (iii) the economic and environmental
benefits associated with its proposed exports. Waller Point asserts
that the proposed exports will not cause a significant increase in
domestic natural gas prices, will create more domestic employment
opportunities, and will advance the development of LNG infrastructure
needed for the United States to fully realize the use of LNG as a
domestic transportation fuel in striving to achieve energy
independence. For these reasons,
[[Page 41687]]
Waller Point asserts that its requested export authorization will have
a positive effect on the U.S. economy and move the country closer to
energy independence without detrimentally impacting the domestic
natural gas supply.
Focusing on domestic need for the LNG, Waller Point states that
recoverable reserves of natural gas in the United States are economical
and plentiful enough to meet demand for both domestic consumption and
long-term export from the Waller Point LNG Terminal. According to
Waller Point, technological advancements in natural gas exploration and
production have allowed for the continued development of previously
undiscovered domestic shale gas reserves. Waller Point asserts that
there has been a consistent trend of upward re-adjustment of U.S.
recoverable natural gas reserves. Citing data from the U.S. Energy
Information Administration (EIA), Waller Point states that the EIA
estimates 2,203 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable gas in
the United States--a figure that it states far exceeds the volume of
anticipated exports. For these and other reasons, Waller Point asserts
that its proposed exports will not materially impact the availability
of natural gas supply from a regional and national perspective, nor
will the exports be needed to meet demand in the United States.
Additional details can be found in Waller Point's Application,
which is posted on the DOE/FE Web site at: http://www.fossil.energy.gov/programs/gasregulation/authorizations/2013_applications/13_153_LNG.pdf.
Environmental Impact
Waller Point states that any construction or modifications to the
Waller Point LNG Terminal resulting from or in connection with the
Application would be subject to approval by the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission (FERC). Following the issuance of this requested
authorization, Waller Point states that it will initiate the pre-filing
review process at FERC for the proposed Terminal, consistent with the
requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq. Waller Point anticipates that FERC will act as the lead
agency for the environmental review, with DOE acting as a cooperating
agency. Waller Point requests that DOE/FE issue an order approving this
Application, with such approval subject to completion by FERC of a
satisfactory environmental review.
DOE/FE Evaluation
The Application will be reviewed pursuant to section 3(a) of the
NGA, 15 U.S.C. 717b(a), and DOE will consider any issues required by
law or policy. To the extent determined to be relevant, these issues
will include the domestic need for the natural gas proposed to be
exported, the adequacy of domestic natural gas supply, U.S. energy
security, and the cumulative impact of the requested authorization and
any other LNG export application(s) previously approved on domestic
natural gas supply and demand fundamentals. DOE may also consider other
factors bearing on the public interest, including the impact of the
proposed exports on the U.S. economy (including GDP, consumers, and
industry), job creation, the U.S. balance of trade, and international
considerations; and whether the authorization is consistent with DOE's
policy of promoting competition in the marketplace by allowing
commercial parties to freely negotiate their own trade arrangements.
Parties that may oppose this Application should address these issues in
their comments and/or protests, as well as other issues deemed relevant
to the Application.
NEPA requires DOE to give appropriate consideration to the
environmental effects of its decisions. No final decision will be
issued in this proceeding until DOE has met its environmental
responsibilities.
Due to the complexity of the issues raised by the Applicant,
interested persons will be provided 60 days from the date of
publication of this Notice in which to submit comments, protests,
motions to intervene, notices of intervention, or motions for
additional procedures.
Public Comment Procedures
In response to this Notice, any person may file a protest,
comments, or a motion to intervene or notice of intervention, as
applicable. Any person wishing to become a party to the proceeding must
file a motion to intervene or notice of intervention, as applicable.
The filing of comments or a protest with respect to the Application
will not serve to make the commenter or protestant a party to the
proceeding, although protests and comments received from persons who
are not parties will be considered in determining the appropriate
action to be taken on the Application. All protests, comments, motions
to intervene, or notices of intervention must meet the requirements
specified by the regulations in 10 CFR part 590.
Filings may be submitted using one of the following methods: (1)
Emailing the filing to [email protected] with FE Docket No. 13-153-LNG
in the title line; (2) mailing an original and three paper copies of
the filing to the Office of Oil and Gas Global Security and Supply at
the address listed in ADDRESSES; or (3) hand delivering an original and
three paper copies of the filing to the Office of Oil and Gas Global
Security and Supply at the address listed in ADDRESSES. All filings
must include a reference to FE Docket No. 13-153-LNG. Please Note: If
submitting a filing via email, please include all related documents and
attachments (e.g., exhibits) in the original email correspondence.
Please do not include any active hyperlinks or password protection in
any of the documents or attachments related to the filing. All
electronic filings submitted to DOE must follow these guidelines to
ensure that all documents are filed in a timely manner. Any hardcopy
filing submitted greater in length than 50 pages must also include, at
the time of the filing, a digital copy on disk of the entire
submission.
A decisional record on the Application will be developed through
responses to this notice by parties, including the parties' written
comments and replies thereto. Additional procedures will be used as
necessary to achieve a complete understanding of the facts and issues.
A party seeking intervention may request that additional procedures be
provided, such as additional written comments, an oral presentation, a
conference, or trial-type hearing. Any request to file additional
written comments should explain why they are necessary. Any request for
an oral presentation should identify the substantial question of fact,
law, or policy at issue, show that it is material and relevant to a
decision in the proceeding, and demonstrate why an oral presentation is
needed. Any request for a conference should demonstrate why the
conference would materially advance the proceeding. Any request for a
trial-type hearing must show that there are factual issues genuinely in
dispute that are relevant and material to a decision, and that a trial-
type hearing is necessary for a full and true disclosure of the facts.
If an additional procedure is scheduled, notice will be provided to
all parties. If no party requests additional procedures, a final
Opinion and Order may be issued based on the official record, including
the Application and responses filed by parties pursuant to this notice,
in accordance with 10 CFR 590.316.
[[Page 41688]]
The Application is available for inspection and copying in the
Division of Natural Gas Regulatory Activities docket room, Room 3E-042,
1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. The docket room is
open between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Federal holidays. The Application and any filed
protests, motions to intervene or notice of interventions, and comments
will also be available electronically by going to the following DOE/FE
Web address: http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/gasregulation/index.html.
Issued in Washington, DC, on July 11, 2014.
A. Anderson,
Director, Division of Natural Gas Regulatory Activities, Office of Oil
and Gas Global Security and Supply, Office of Oil and Natural Gas.
[FR Doc. 2014-16829 Filed 7-16-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P