The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued an order declaring that Pivotal LNG and its affiliates that produce the chilled gas for export by a third party would not be subject to the Commission’s NGA section 3 jurisdiction.
In addition to its Trussville, Alabama LNG facility, Pivotal requested the commission declare four other existing liquefaction and storage facilities, operated by its affiliates, will be nonjurisdictional. The affiliated facilities are the Riverdale LNG facility in Riverdale, Georgia; the Cherokee LNG facility in Ball Ground, Georgia; the Macon LNG facility in Macon, Georgia; and the Chattanooga LNG facility in Chattanooga, Tennessee, FERC said in its notice.
Pivotal submitted a petition requesting the commission determine that Pivotal, as well as its affiliates, would not be subject to either NGA section 3 or section 7 jurisdiction if LNG produced at the LNG facilities was transported by waterborne vessel to end users in noncontiguous states and territories (e.g., Hawaii or Puerto Rico).
On September 4, 2014, the commission issued an order determining that the transportation of LNG by nonpipeline means would not subject Pivotal and its affiliates to the commission’s jurisdiction and that the LNG facilities owned by Pivotal and its affiliates would not be “LNG Terminals” as defined by NGA section 2. However, the September 2014 Declaratory Order was limited to transactions in which LNG was subsequently transported by waterborne vessel to end users in noncontiguous states and territories.
Pivotal now seeks a declaratory order finding that the LNG facilities it identifies would not be deemed “LNG Terminals” subject to the commission’s NGA section 3 jurisdiction when engaging in transactions which ultimately result in any of the LNG they produce being exported. Specifically, Pivotal expects it or its affiliates to sell LNG that is produced at the identified inland LNG facilities or supplied by a third party, transported by Pivotal, an affiliate, or third party in interstate and intrastate commerce by means other than interstate pipeline and subsequently exported, or resold for ultimate export, by a third party.
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LNG World News Staff; Image: FERC