Oregon Public Broadcasting

The company behind a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal on the Columbia River responded Wednesday to a recent report from Oregon’s Department of Energy.

The Energy Department report suggested that the best way to deal with declining natural gas supplies from Canada is to use more gas from the Rocky Mountains, rather than import liquefied gas.

Joe Desmond is a senior vice president with Northern Star, the company pushing for approval of the Bradwood Landing site. He says the report overlooks the economic impact of pipelines under construction that could send Colorado gas to the East Coast.

Joe Desmond:  “Gas will flow to higher-priced markets, and Oregon will find itself competing for those traditional supplies. LNG can, in fact, compete very effectively and provide a cost-effective alternative, which is to say it provides competition so that consumers get the lowest possible price for natural gas.”

Desmond agreed with the Energy Department that LNG contributes more greenhouse gases to the atmosphere than traditional natural gas. But he says it’s a lot better than burning coal.

Northern Star also urged federal energy regulators to ignore pleas from LNG opponents for a new environmental study.