Say Hello to "Port Esperanza"

LNG in Long Beach. "Dead," right? Not yet.

Espeanza Energy has announced plans to seek approval for a LNG receiving terminal 15 miles offshore from the port.

The Long Beach Press Telegram describes the project:

"To minimize environmental impacts, Esperanza plans to use heated discharge water piped in from a local power plant to warm the LNG facility, eliminating the need to use seawater on-site or use internal combustion engine Adaptable platforms.

Esperanza's proposal differs from other offshore plans in that the floating terminals, built by Norway-based Torp Technologies, are adaptable to all existing or future standard LNG ships, Maul said.

The partially submerged platforms, which rise about 100 feet above the water line, are maneuvered by remote-controlled or onboard thrusters.

Platforms are less than half the size of a large port gantry crane used to offload cargo ships and are designed to suction onto the side of a ship during off-loading and hold there in waves up to 14 feet, said Mitchell.

Equipment on the platform is used to regasify the super-cooled fuel using electricity and pump it through buoyed pipelines connecting the ship to the ocean floor.

From there, gas is sent through a 30-inch pipeline to just outside the breakwater, where the pipe dives 100 feet underground until it ends one mile inland on the Long Beach/Seal Beach border, Maul said. "

Esperanza Energy Announces Plans for Long Beach Offshore LNG Receiving Terminal [Press Release]