American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2019 - 17

IndustryDigest
BLM Pulls Chaco Area
From New Mexico Sale
SANTA FE, N.M.-The U.S. Bureau
of Land Management has once again excluded lands near New Mexico's Chaco
Culture National Historical Park in San
Juan and McKinley counties from its
March lease sale.
Meanwhile, a freshman New Mexico
state senator has introduced legislation
that would halt hydraulic fracturing
statewide for four years.
BLM New Mexico State Director Tim
Spisak announced on Feb. 8 that the
agency was deferring nine parcels comprising about 1,500 acres from its March
28 oil and gas lease sale. Local press accounts identify the deferred parcels as
"near the Chaco Culture National Historical Park" and note it is the third time
the Trump administration has proposed
and then deferred leasing parcels near
Chaco Canyon.
Opponents to leasing have attempted
unsuccessfully the past two years in the
New Mexico Legislature to enact moratoriums on leasing in the area, including
HJM 5 in 2017 by then state Representative Patricia Roybal Caballero, D-Albuquerque, who is a cosponsor on this year's
fracturing moratorium bill (AOGR, May
2017, pg. 34).
U.S. Senators Tom Udall, D-N.M., and
Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., filed the Chaco
Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act last
year, which would have codified a 10mile buffer around the 53 square-mile historical park (AOGR, July 2018, pg. 101).
And in 2015, tribal and environmental
groups filed a lawsuit to stop oil and gas
development around the park, although
U.S. District Judge James Oren Browning
ruled against them in April 2018.
Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, D-Albuquerque, who was appointed to the New
Mexico Senate by Governor Lujan Grisham
to fill a vacancy, introduced SB 459 in
February along with three cosponsors. It
would prohibit the New Mexico Energy,
Minerals and Natural Resources Department
from issuing any new permits "allowing
hydraulic fracturing for the purpose of extracting oil or natural gas" until June 2023.
In addition to the moratorium on fracturing, SB 459 directs the NMEMNRD
to report annually to the governor and
appropriate legislative committees on the
number of oil and gas permit applications
that involve fracturing as well as state,
national and global trends regarding

methane and greenhouse gas emissions.
It also requires annual reports from six
other state agencies, including Agriculture,
Environment, Health and the Office of
the State Engineer on the impacts of fracturing and oil and gas development on
agriculture, public health, the environment,
and the state's surface- and groundwaters,
among others.
While New Mexico Oil & Gas Association Director of Communications
Robert McEntyre observes that "there is
not a groundswell of activity on either
side of the political aisle to push forward
with this legislation," he acknowledges
that "it is a bad thing that these types of
bills are going to make their way forward
in the next couple of years." ❒

Louisiana LNG Terminal
Gains FERC Approval
WASHINGTON-The American Petroleum Institute is praising the Federal
Energy Regulatory Commission's approval
of a liquefied natural gas export terminal
in Louisiana, saying the decision will
help U.S. energy companies share the
benefits of domestic energy and economic
leadership around the world.
"We are thrilled that FERC has found
a bipartisan path to approval of Venture
Global LNG Inc.'s Calcasieu Pass LNG
export project in Cameron Parish, La.,
which also creates a path forward for all
other LNG export facilities that currently
are in front of the commission," says
Todd Snitchler, vice president of market
development at API.
As the United States has become a
net natural gas exporter, API says new
LNG facilities will help to advance the
nation's ability to produce and share clean
energy to countries across the globe.
Venture Global says its $5 billion
export terminal is expected to enter service
early in 2022. The facility includes nine
1.2 million ton liquefaction blocks and
two 200,000 cubic meter full containment
LNG storage tanks.
"With our FERC order in hand and
our project contracted with binding 20year sale and purchase agreements (SPA)
with Shell, BP, Edison S.p.a., Galp, Repsol
and PGNiG, we plan to immediately
commence construction activities in
Louisiana in close coordination with
FERC and other agencies," co-chief executive officers Bob Pender and Mike
Sable say.

Venture Global also is developing the
20 million tonnes per annum nameplate
Plaquemines LNG export facility as associated Gator Express Pipeline in Plaquemines Parish, La. Plaquemines LNG has
executed a binding 20-year SPA with
PGNiG. ❒

FID Pushes Forward
Golden Pass LNG Plant
IRVING, TX.-ExxonMobil and Qatar
Petroleum say they have made a final investment decision to develop the Golden
Pass liquefied natural gas export project
in Sabine Pass, Tx. The companies indicate
the $10 billion, three-train facility will
have a capacity of 16 million metric tons
a year. Startup is scheduled for 2024.
"Golden Pass will provide an increased,
reliable, long-term LNG supply to global
gas markets, stimulate local growth and
create thousands of jobs," declares ExxonMobil Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer Darren Woods.
He cites preliminary estimates by an
independent study that the project could
generate up to $31 billion in U.S. economic gains and more than $4.6 billion
in direct federal, state and local tax revenues over its lifetime.
Published reports also say Oklahoma
City-based Enable Midstream Partners
LP has announced Golden Pass will be
the anchor shipper on its Gulf Run Pipeline
project to move 1.1 billion cubic feet of
gas a day from the Haynesville Shale in
northern Louisiana to the Gulf Coast.
Qatar Petroleum has a 70 percent
working interest in Golden Pass while
ExxonMobil owns 30 percent.
Published reports note that Golden
Pass was opened as an LNG import terminal in October 2010, but received its
last shipment in June 2011.
Alex Munton, principal analyst Americas LNG at Wood Mackenzie, observes
that Golden Pass is one of the few remaining brownfield LNG development
opportunities on the U.S. Gulf Coast.
Wood Mackenzie opines that the Golden Pass announcement "kicks off what
could be a record year for LNG final investment decisions," also citing sales and
purchase agreements Anadarko Petroleum
signed with the Chinese National Offshore
Oil Corp, Tokyo Gas-Centrica and Shell,
moving toward an FID on their proposed
6.1 mmty Mozambique LNG (Area 1)
project. ❒
MARCH 2019 17

American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2019

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