Applications under review

To date, seventeen Deepwater Port Act (DWPA) applications have been filed for approval.  Sixteen applications were filed for licenses to import liquefied natural gas (LNG); One application was filed for a license to import liquefied petroleum gas. (LPG)

Seven applications have been approved.  (Of the seven applications that have been approved, six licenses have been issued; one license is currently pending.)

One application has been cancelled.  One application has been denied.  Three applications have been withdrawn or are inactive.  Five applications are currently under review.

Calypso LNG (Suez LNG N.A.)

Calypso LNG LLC filed an application on March 2, 2006, for a liquefied natural gas facility 12 miles off the coast of Port Everglades, FL.  However, the application was deemed incomplete and a revised application was submitted.  On October 13, 2006, the Maritime Administration and the U.S. Coast Guard deemed the revised application complete.  Public scoping meetings were held on November 27 and 28, 2007.

Website: Calypso LNG LLC
Link to the Federal Docket for Calypso LNG at www.regulations.gov (Docket Number: USCG-2006-26009)

Clearwater Port (NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc. [Formerly Crystal Energy])

Clearwater Port filed an application on January 28, 2004, for an liquefied natural gas facility 12.6 miles off the coast of Ventura County, California.  The proposed facility will convert an existing off-shore oil drilling platform into a liquefied natural gas receiving terminal.  Public scoping meetings were held in Oxnard, CA & Santa Clarita, CA, on October 3 and October 4, 2007, respectively, with the public comment period ending on October 18, 2007.  

On October 23, 2007, a "Stop Clock" letter was issued, suspending the regulatory timeline for applicants to gather data essential to the project.

Website: Clearwater Port
Link to the Federal Docket for Clearwater Port at www.regulations.gov (Docket Number: USCG USCG-2007-28676)

Oceanway Secure Energy (Woodside Natural Gas, Inc)

Oceanway Secure Energy filed an application with the Maritime Administration for a license under the Deepwater Port Act, to build, own and operate a Liquefied Natural Gas facility on August 18, 2006.  Woodside's proposed OceanWay facility will be located approximately 28 miles southwest of Los Angeles, California and will convert the liquefied gas to natural gas utilizing a ship to ship transfer for injection into Southern California's existing onshore pipeline system.  The process will use ambient air as the method of regasification and will not use either open loop vaporization or closed loop vaporization.  The connection to the pipeline system will take place offshore via submerged buoys located 100 feet below the water surface.  The maximum send-out capacity for the Oceanway project is anticipated to be 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day.

On July 30, 2007, Woodside and the Maritime Administration announced an agreement to register two vessels under the U.S. flag and to employ American officers and crews in the operation of the proposed Oceanway facility.  A public scoping meeting was held in Los Angeles on September 26, 2007 and the public comment period was extended period until October 31, 2007 due to public interest & delays due to the transition from the Department of Transportation Docket system to the Federal Docket Management System.

Website: Oceanway Secure Energy
Link to the Federal Docket for Oceanway Secure Energy at www.regulations.gov (Docket Number: USCG-2007-26844)

Port Dolphin (Port Dolphin LLC)

On March 29, 2007, Port Dolphin Energy LLC filed an application with the Maritime Administration to construct a deepwater port located in federal waters approximately 28 miles offshore of the Tampa Bay area of Florida.  The applicant is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Höegh LNG.  The proposed port will consist of two mooring areas centered on two Submerged Turret Loading (STL) Buoys similar to those used in the Gulf Gateway, Northeast Gateway, Neptune and Calypso projects.  

A letter of completeness was issued to the applicant on June 15, 2007.  A Notice of Availability for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement was issued in the Federal Register on June 15, 2007 and the public meeting took place in Palmetto, FL on July 25, 2007.  On August 10, 2007, a "Stop Clock" letter was issued to Hoegh for more information for the proposed Port Dolphin deepwater port.  The statutory "clock" was restarted on February 6, 2008, and the applicant hosted an open house and public meeting on May 6, 2008, in Palmetto, FL.

Website: Port Dolphin
Link to the Federal Docket for Port Dolphin at www.regulations.gov (Docket Number: USCG-2007-28532)

Safe Harbor Energy (Atlantic Sea Island Group LLC)

The Atlantic Sea Island Group LLC (ASIG), filed an application with the United States Coast Guard and the Maritime Administration on September 13, 2006, for a license under the Deepwater Port Act, to build, own and operate a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) receiving, storage and regasification deepwater port facility.

The deepwater port, Safe Harbor Energy (Safe Harbor), will consist of three components: an island constructed in Federal waters on the Outer Continental Shelf approximately 13.5 miles south of the city of Long Beach, New York, and 23 miles southeast of the New York Harbor.  A LNG receiving, storage, and regasification terminal, and a subsea pipeline that will extend from the Safe Harbor Island and interconnect with the onshore KeySpan pipeline.  Once constructed and fully operational, the Safe Harbor facility will be capable of delivering up to two billion cubic feet of natural gas per day to the New York metropolitan region.  The ambient air vaporization process will be used to convert the LNG into natural gas using a closed-loop regasification system.

The Maritime Administration and U.S. Coast Guard sent a letter of incompleteness to the applicant citing insufficient data and other data gaps.  On September 6, 2007, the state of New Jersey requested that the state be designated an Adjacent Coastal State.  On October 24, 2007, a "Stop Clock" letter was issued, suspending the regulatory timeline to address need for additional information.  New Jersey's request was to be designated an Adjacent Coastal State was granted on November 2, 2007.

Website: www.safeharborenergy.com
Link to the Federal Docket for Safe Harbor Energy at www.regulations.gov (Docket Number: USCG USCG-2007-28535)