Woodside unveils 'green' LNG plant in US - Breaking News - Business - Breaking News: "Woodside Petroleum Ltd hopes its plan to process liquefied natural gas (LNG) in ships off the Californian coast will head off environmental concerns that have threatened another project by BHP Billiton Ltd.
Woodside unveiled its plan for the OceanWay Secure Energy project on Thursday, just days after the California state government took issue with BHP Billiton's proposal to deliver gas through the $US800 million Cabrillo terminal development off Malibu.
OceanWay will have not have an onshore terminal or an offshore platform with Woodside proposing to develop special ships with onboard regasification facilities.
The ships would dock at a underwater buoy and deliver natural gas into the Californian gas distribution system through an undersea pipeline.
The pipeline would surface within an industrial area alongside the Los Angeles Airport.
The proposed buoy site is 32 kilometres offshore and more than five miles beyond shipping lanes and Woodside said the impact on the seascape would be minimal.
'When a ship is delivering natural gas it will be over 20 miles offshore ... barely visible even on the clearest of days,' Woodside Natural Gas president Jane Cutler said.
'The technologically advanced ships we use are specifically engineered for the delivery of LNG and they eliminate the need for an onshore terminal or an offshore platform.'
Ms Cutler said she had already discussed the proposal with the Californian government, which had welcomed the alternative proposal.
California imports around 86 per cent of its natural gas and major energy companies have been racing to supply the market.
There are several proposals for the transfer of LNG to meet California's increasing energy demands, including BHP Billiton's, but offshore terminals h"