FREEPORT, Grand Bahama ﾖ A liquefied natural gas explosion in Belgium has shifted attention once again to the safety issues associated with LNG projects, particularly as the Government of the Bahamas considers three such proposals.
Last Friday, an employee of Electrabel, owned by the Tractebel Energy Corporation, was killed in that explosion, along with 14 others. One hundred more people were injured when, according to press reports, construction workers pierced a cross-border LNG pipeline.
The incident was branded as one of the worst industrial accidents to occur in Belgium in over 40 years.
Tractebel is one of three energy rivals jockeying for Bahamas Government LNG approval.
Prime Minister Perry Christie told the Bahama Journal recently that the government continues to ponder the safety of Tractebelﾴs proposed LNG project for the Freeport Harbour, despite environmental and safety reports that indicate the facility will pose minimal risk to employees and nearby residents.
ﾓThe government of the Bahamas is considering a proposal by Tractebel to establish itself in the existing harbour. We have heard from all parties about the possibility of another port [being built] but that has not yet materialized,ﾒ Mr. Christie said.
ﾓThe Government of the Bahamas has to take into consideration the people who work in the harbour and the proximity to Hepburn Town and Eight Mile Rock,ﾒ he added.
Tractebelﾴs proposed LNG facility, if approved, would be built in the harbour that lies adjacent to two of the islandﾴs largest western settlements.
A risk assessment study recently completed by the Advantica certification group determined that the chance of nearby residents dying as a result of a catastrophic accident at Tractebelﾴs proposed facility is 3 in 1 million.
The Grand Bahama Port Authority, which supports Tractebel’s proposed LNG project, commissioned that study since other risk reports had not taken into account worse case scenarios.
Fridayﾴs explosion in Belgium destroyed buildings, hurled bodies more than one-hundred yards away, and incinerated everything within 400 yards of the crater it created.
Despite the devastation caused by the accident in Belgium, the Advantica study concluded that such major accidents would only have a likelihood of happening once every 10,000 years.
Opponents of LNG projects have, however, scoffed at such figures, insisting that the devastation caused by major LNG accidents outweigh the seemingly low chance of their occurrence.
Advantica is a European evaluation company formed in the early 1970ﾴs that initially operated the Research and Development of one of Englandﾴs largest energy companies, British Gas.
The study assessed the risks of what it called four ﾓLow Frequency, High Consequence Scenarios.ﾒ
The four scenarios assessed were a major release of LNG at the terminalﾴs jetty, a rupture of LNG fill lines from the jetty to storage tanks, a rupture of gas export lines from vaporizers and a major release of liquefied gas from an LNG ship.
ﾓCombining the risk of the four scenarios,ﾒ the report said, ﾓthere is a 3 in 1 million chance of becoming a fatality in any one year for the most exposed person off-site.ﾒ
The study also determined that if the facility were being constructed in the U.K, the individual risks to offsite people would be deemed ﾓtolerable.ﾒ
The port authority, Tractebelﾴs ally in the current three-way race for LNG approval in the Bahamas, stands by the risk assessments, and has gone to great lengths to tout the safety of Tractebelﾴs project.
Residents who feel Tractebelﾴs approval would pave the way for new job opportunities have held demonstrations in support of the project.
In fact, those supporters calling for the projectﾴs approval recently, claimed to have secured one thousand signatures for a petition to that effect.
Prime Minister Christie pointed out that, ﾓAll parties have expended a lot of time, effort and resources in trying to determine the suitability of Tractebelﾴs operations for the existing port.
ﾓItﾴs a process that is ongoing now. Thereﾴs some supplemental work to be done, but I think in the very near future an announcement will be made as to the position of the government.ﾒ
Sharon Williams, The Bahama Journal
