Long Beach LNG Project, RIP.

So much for LNG in Long Beach. It's dead. The Long Beach Board of Harbor Commissioners voted unanimously to halt the environmental review of the project yesterday, effectively killing it.

The writing has been on the wall for this project for some time so this isn't surprising. It simply made no sense to put an LNG terminal smack dab in the middle of a densley populated urban area that also just happens to be the biggest port in the U.S. (making it one of the most economically sensitive locations in the country). God forbid a terrorist attack or an earthquake were to strike. Countless casualties and economic chaos would ensue. It was a bad idea.

LNG, however, remains a good idea as long as it doesn't threaten lives or commerce.

Sempra is well underway with construction of its LNG terminal in Baja, Mexico; you know all about BHP Billiton's Carbrillo Port because we've discussed it ad nauseum; there is the Clearwater Port project also off the coast of Oxnard, and Woodside has its project also near Malibu.

The net-net of all this then, is that there is still a good chance California will get access to much-needed LNG.

In its write-up of the Long Beach decision, the LA Times quoted PUC attorney Harvey Morris who pretty much summed up the case against the Sound Energy Solutions project:

"This project would have put over 140,000 people who live and work within 3 miles of that LNG terminal at risk," said Harvey Morris, an attorney for the Public Utilities Commission. "The evidence was overwhelming there's all kinds of things that could go wrong if there was a terror attack or earthquake. There's a need for LNG, but there are much safer alternatives."

Even though the project is dead, the saga will surely continue. I'm sure Sound Energy Solutions will sue Long Beach and waste a lot of time and taxpayer money, so don't expect this to go away soon, but if you live in Long Beach, you at least you can cross this project off your list of things to worry about.

LNG project killed [Long Beach Press Telegram]