The construction of a Liquefied Natural Gas plant at Ocean Cay, Bimini to convey fuel to South Florida, instead of constructing the facility in the United States, has caused raised eyebrows among environmentalists, Bahamas Government members, and the public.
However, according to the Project Director of AES Ocean LNG Ltd, Aaron Samson, Ocean Cay is not only ideal, but “the right place.”
At Ocean Cay, Mr. Samson says, there are no neighbours or shipping congestion, in addition to isolation. These factors, he said, are ideal for building an LNG pipeline.
“It does not matter whether Ocean Cay is in Bahamian or U.S. waters; there is not a place within hundreds of miles on the South or East coast of Florida, that is unpopulated enough to be the right acceptable place,” he said, adding that AES’ plans for Ocean Cay may seem “extravagant,” but the pipeline that they want to implement, is very short in comparison to others.
“The pipes that serve the Florida market today are hundreds of miles, and so what I am competing against is pipelines that are hundreds of miles to get there (Florida),” he said.
The Guardian asked Mr. Samson about published reports on the internet which claimed that three energy companies, El Paso, Tractebel and AES all vied to build pipelines in The Bahamas because it would be easier to get government approval.
Mr. Samson refuted such claims, but said that since making plans to construct an LNG pipeline in The Bahamas, it has “turned out” not to be at all “easy”.
“We committed to meet U.S. regulations from the beginning. This facility (Andres οΎ– Santo Domingo) is done to U.S. regulations. We are doing everything to the right U.S. and international standards. That has been our position with The Bahamas the day we showed up,” Mr. Samson said. “It is not easier. There is a process going on in Louisiana that is probably going to get its approval quicker than I did.
Asked about published reports of energy companies developing their own Environmental Impact Assessment to favour their company, Mr. Samson said that excluding other companies, AES paid professional consultants to draw up its EIA.
He said however that AES knows what standards should be put in place and what is acceptable.
“We make our decision so that we know that it would comply. Part of the reason why I am confident, is because I know the standard and I know that we have a design that can be made to comply, so it’s an engineering solution and if you pick the right place, you can make it acceptable,” he said.
AES submitted its EIA to the BEST Commission since 2002, which is still being reviewed.
If granted approval to construct a gas pipeline at Ocean Cay, Mr. Samson said AES would provide water to Bimini, in addition to creating 40 to 45 permanent jobs.
“During construction the peak number of jobs would probably be around 400,” he said, adding that the pier that AES would build, would also create direct revenues to the government of some $15 million a year. This amount, he said can increase to $20 to 30 million a year if there is an expansion.
AES presently owns an aragonite mining plant on Ocean Cay, purchased in the spring of 2001. The energy company wants to invest $650 million at Ocean Cay to construct, own and operate a 64- kilometer pipeline that would be constructed of steel pipe and installed on the sea floor.
The Ocean Express pipeline would receive natural gas from the Ocean Cay pipeline and deliver gas to South Florida. The project has been developed to include an LNG terminal import terminal and facilities. If given government approval, AES wants to begin construction in late 2003 and is anticipating starting service by 2006.
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
