Determined not to be outdone by its rivals, another company in the race to boost LNG production, Tractebel North America has completed a series of fact-finding trips for Bahamian officials of its LNG facilities abroad.
It’s the same path that the government representatives took for the AES Corporation, whose environmental impact assessment is on public display now.
Health Minister Senator Dr. Marcus Bethel, Trade and Industry Minister Leslie Miller, Tourism Minister Obie Wilchcombe and Environment Ambassador Keod Smith have, over the last few weeks, all being shown a few Tractebel LNG operations abroad.
Other officials accompanied them on the inspections of plants in Trinidad, Portugal and the United States.
The company wants to lay the 95-mile long Calypso Pipeline that would connect Grand Bahama to South Florida. The projections are the creation of 600 jobs during the three year construction phase and 40 permanent jobs afterwards.
A $33 million per year benefit is also expected to accrue to the Bahamian economy, according to company officials – figures that sound good at a time when the government is seriously hunting for viable investment projects.
Tractebel’s Jim Ebeling said his company wants to establish roots in the Bahamas.
“We are supportive of the Bahamian government’s need to thoroughly research the LNG industry and our company,” he said of the missions that were designed to give the Bahamian delegation more insight into Tractebel’s operations.
Two trips were made to Everett, Massachusetts, where Tractebel’s LNG terminal has been operating for more than 30 years. The Bahamian officials toured the terminal and met with the U.S. Coast Guard Captain of the Port and Everett leaders, including the Mayor, the Fire Chief, and the Superintendent of Schools.
They also met with a local environmental group, Save the Harbor-Save the Bay. In particular, the Bahamian delegation heard first-hand about Tractebel’s safety and security procedures, its commitment to the community, and its LNG expertise.
In Trinidad, the focus was on Tractebel’s initial role in helping assemble the Atlantic LNG partners and providing the expertise necessary to bring Trinidad’s facility into existence.
Along with touring the facility, the delegation met with key officials from Atlantic LNG, the National Gas Company of Trinidad, Trinidad’s Environmental Management Agency, the Minister of Energy and Energy Industries Office, a local environmental consultant, and members of the business community.
But such overtures by LNG officials aren’t going over so well with people who are worried about the possible impact of the operation on the marine environment.
“I am concerned about these LNG plants,” a resident of Freeport told the Bahama Journal. “I don’t think it is fair that all these talks are going on and we have had no say on the matter as yet. If something this big is going to be built on my island I want to know about it for my safety and the safety of my family.”
“They say these pipelines will bring in new jobs and money and that’s all good if its true, but nobody has consulted me about these projects. The people in Florida are always having meetings to talk about these plans, and we should have the same opportunity,” said another resident.
Unlike AES, the company hasn’t held town meetings here to field the concerns of the Bahamian public. But company officials were hoping that the fact finding trips to its plants abroad exactly what was needed to continue convincing even its worse critics that the LNG project will cause no harm.
The proposed Tractebel Calypso project consists of an LNG receiving terminal and regasification facility planned for Freeport, which will ultimately supply natural gas to the Florida market via a 100-mile undersea pipeline.
In the meantime, company officials are continuing their work with various authorities in order to obtain the approvals required to build and operate the facility in Freeport’s industrial district.
Months ago, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in the United States opined that both the AES and Tractebel projects would be expected to cause minimal damage to the environment; a position environmentalists continue to challenge.
El Paso Oil also wants to build an LNG pipeline from Grand Bahama to South Florida.
The government has made no decision yet on any of the three proposals for LNG pipelines. But it could decide on at least one by the end of the month, Health Minister Dr. Marcus Bethel said last month.
The Bahama Journal
