Demand for natural gas in North America is rapidly outpacing domestic supplies, and competition from western U.S. energy markets for natural gas that otherwise would be delivered to California energy consumers is increasing. As these supplies decrease, imported liquefied natural gas (LNG) becomes an important resource to meet domestic natural gas requirements. Port Esperanza will help diversify our country’s energy portfolio by adding much-needed natural gas to California’s distribution system.

 

Port Esperanza will allow LNG carriers to offload LNG transported from overseas. The ships will dock at the facility where the LNG will be warmed into natural gas. A subsea pipeline will transport the gas from Port Esperanza to shore. The pipeline will be buried at a depth several times that of other gas pipelines and will be encased in a protective conduit. It will come to the surface approximately 1 mile inland where it will connect directly into the natural gas distribution grid through one of the region’s natural gas providers.

 

Port Esperanza has several unique features that distinguish it from other West Coast LNG projects:

The planned facility is located approximately 15 miles from the Port of Long Beach in Southern California. An offshore ocean location reduces visual impacts from shore and increases safety through long distance separation from populated areas. For more information, visit Safety Innovative technology eliminates the generation of onboard air emissions the need for on-site LNG storage tanks. For more information, visit Technology Port Esperanza’s design includes a utility corridor located deep beneath the coastline to encase its natural gas and water pipelines, which eliminates the need for disruptive coastal drilling. The site will utilize hot water received from an onshore site and will use it to regasify (warm) the LNG into commercially usable natural gas.  For more information, visit Environment