WOODSIDE Petroleum has scrapped a billion-dollar plan to build a LNG import terminal off the coast of California, as a result of changing US domestic gas market conditions.
The OceanWay project has been undergoing planning since 2004 and now around 20 Los Angeles-based jobs are at risk. The company declined to say how much money had been spent on the plan.
According to the resources giant, the level of US domestic gas supplies had increased dramatically over the last five years to their highest point since 1974. Such a vast amount of locally-produced gas limited the appeal of an import terminal.
The company says neither falling oil prices nor a need to conserve cash for Australian projects were behind the scrapping.
The OceanWay project would have been Woodside’s first LNG import terminal. It was to be constructed about 43km off the Californian coast and connected to the mainland by a twin pipeline.
The distance from the coast, would mean that LNG tankers could moor at the terminal while remaining effectively out of sight from the mainland.
A similar proposal by BHP Billiton has attracted widespread opposition from LA residents, who claim they would be able to see the terminal on the horizon. This terminal would be only 22km off the coast.
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