The Bahamas expects to earn $40 million annually from Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) plants, Minister of Trade and Industry Leslie Miller said. And if one or more of the three projects under
consideration are approved, The Bahamas would be the second English-speaking Caribbean state, after Trinidad and Tobago, with LNG storage and transport facilities.
“LNG is one of the safest industries in the world, and with the least problems, environmentally and otherwise. It is a sound industry,” Mr Miller told The Guardian in an exclusive interview over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Environment, Dr Marcus Bethel addressed public concerns over the proposed LNG projects on the ZNS Drive By talk show Friday.
Dr Bethel said that the former government had agreed, in principle, to proposals submitted by three international companies to supply South Florida’s growing energy market with more natural gas via a multimillion-dollar undersea pipeline from The Bahamas.
However, he said that no final decision would be made until Cabinet reviews the proposals, and then presents them to the public for feedback. “As long as a proposal is before Cabinet, it is kept under wraps until a decision is made to proceed with it,” Dr Bethel said, responding to allegations of government secrecy regarding the LNG projects.
He also confirmed that he met with local environmentalists recently to discuss the matter, and expressed surprise at their agitation.
Mr Miller said the fears expressed by armchair environmentalists were groundless: “There is no foundation or basis for the scare tactics some of them are using. It is a safe product, a safe industry and one that The Bahamas could and should be involved in.”
He said the Ministry of Trade and Industry, in conjunction with the Bahamas Environment Science & Technology (BEST) Commission would hold town meetings on the LNG issue starting this week.
The three companies which submitted preliminary proposals:
New Jersey-based Applied Energy Services; Tractebel, a Belgian energy firm; and the Houston-based El Paso Corporation.
Mr Miller also disclosed that the government is working with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which requires certain parameters be put in place for LNG projects.
Once AES gets its final approval from that commission at about July, it is hoped that The Bahamas Government would be in the position to provide the company with the necessary licenses, Mr Miller said.
He threw out the following reasons why LNG projects are being considered:
* Existing ports in Florida lack sufficient vacant land necessary to construct and operate world-class size LNG facilities and meet minimum setback requirements for safe and secure operations.
* Both Bimini and Grand Bahama are located closer to Miami than is Puerto Rico or Florida’s closest neighbouring states. Locations that have welcomed LNG projects.
* Facilitating development of a clean, safe and high tech industry in The Bahamas has the potential to generate revenues and jobs for Bahamians for decades.
* The Bahamas can offer LNG project developers financial incentives that competing host countries or states cannot or will not match.
* The Bahamas can review the project proposals more efficiently and undertake public health, safety and environmental management as effectively as the USA.
Asked whether there would continued demand for LNG in The Bahamas, Mr Miller said “definitely”, as it is the most rapidly growing segment of the energy industry, and the mounting need for electricity globally, has increased demand for LNG nearly eight per cent annually since 1980.
LNG is a natural gas that has been condensed to a liquid state by cooling it to a sub-zero temperature, about 260ﾰ F or 162ﾰ C. It is non-toxic, odorless and colourless. It is hailed as one of the “safest products” in the world, and with the least problems, environmentally and otherwise. LNG tankers have been transporting shipments since 1952, with no incidents of a spill.
Furthermore, energy analysts indicate that LNG has proven to be safer than other liquid fossil fuels including crude oil, liquid petroleum (gas), gasoline, diesel, and kerosene.
For this reason, environmental scientists and managers, as well as medical and emergency response professionals, commonly endorse the development and use of LNGs.
“It is a safe product, a safe industry and one that The Bahamas could and should be involved in,” Mr Miller said.
By Lindsay Thompson, The Nassau Guardian
