Closed Loop Technology News

Petroleum producer McMoRan Exploration Co. has received final approval for a $1 b liquefied natural gas project off Louisiana's coast, including storage caverns in an offshore salt dome, the company announced Thursday. The go-ahead from MarAd was the last needed for the Main Pass Energy Hub, sources said. The record accompanying the decision was 46 pages long and outlines requirements that will be put into the license. The facility will handle imported natural gas that has been liquefied in order to take up less space and be more easily transported by tankers. In the LNG process, natural gas is chilled to -256 degrees Fahrenheit, turning it from a gas to a liquid, and moved into heavily insulated storage tanks.

McMoRan Exploration Co. announced the publication of the Environmental Assessment (EA) and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact by the United States Coast Guard (Coast Guard) and the Maritime Administration (MarAd) for the Main Pass Energy Hub (MPEH) LNG license application. The Coast Guard issued a public notice on September 19, 2006, establishing a timeline for a record of decision on the project, including public hearings to be held during the week of October 2, 2006. Comments on the application, including from the Governors of adjacent coastal states (Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama), are required by November 20, 2006, and a record of decision would be issued by January 3, 2007.

Freeport-McMoRan Exploration Co. is one step closer to obtaining a deep port license to regasify one billion cu. ft. of natural gas per day at one of its former offshore sulfur mines. The U.S. Coast Guard all but approved the request, citing “sufficient information” to continue processing the application. Once approved, McMoRan’s former $1b offshore sulfur mines will receive a $450m facelift to convert the platforms to regasify liquefied natural gas and then ship it to onshore pipelines. McMoRan amended its license application with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration May 31 to obtain approval of its Main Pass Energy Hub project using closed loop technology.

McMoRan Exploration Co. has received correspondence from the U.S. Coast Guard regarding the remaining steps to be completed to obtain a Deepwater Port License for its Main Pass Energy Hub (MPEHTM) project. This information confirms McMoRan's expectation that the work completed to date will enable an expeditious processing of our license application. McMoRan submitted an amendment to its license application with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on May 31 to obtain approval of its Main Pass Energy Hub project using Closed Loop technology. On July 21, the Coast Guard advised McMoRan that the information provided…