Commonwealth LNG receives FERC environmental impact statement

Commonwealth LNG LLC has received a final environmental impact statement (EIS) from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for its proposed 8.4-million tonne/year LNG plant in Cameron Parish, La.  

FERC staff concluded that approval of the project with the mitigation measures recommended would result in some adverse environmental impacts, most of which would be reduced to less than significant levels. But FERC also concluded that there would be significant impacts on visual resources and that impacts on environmental justice communities would be disproportionately high and adverse.

In addition to the plant, the project would include six gas pretreatment trains and two flare systems (consisting of four total flares), six 50,000-cu m LNG storage tanks, one LNG carrier berth capable of accommodating vessels up to 216,000 cu m, a barge dock, and a 3-mile, 42-in. OD pipeline capable of delivering 1.44 bcfd.

Commonwealth expects to begin site preparation in early 2023 and take final investment decision in third-quarter 2023, targeting operations in third-quarter 2026.  

This EIS did not characterize Commonwealth LNG’s greenhouse gas emissions as significant or insignificant because FERC is conducting a generic proceeding to determine whether and how it will conduct such significance determinations going forward.