Sunday, May 20, 2007

BHP disappointed with Schwarzenegger's veto of gas terminal

SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian mining giant BHP Billiton revealed disappointment Sunday at California Governor

Arnold Schwarzenegger's decision to veto its bid for a natural gas terminal off the state's coastline.

natural gas (LNG) terminal off Malibu, west of Los Angeles.

But Schwarzenegger rejected the proposal on environmental grounds after a string of Hollywood celebrities, including Pierce Brosnan, Martin Sheen, Tom Hanks, Cindy Crawford and Halle Berry, opposed it.

"We respect but are disappointed with the (Californian) government's decision to disapprove the project," a BHP Billiton spokeswoman said.

"For the past four years, we have been working co-operatively with state and (US) federal officials and regulators, and we've designed and re-designed that project along the way to meet the concerns of regulators and officials and (those that) the public have raised during the hundreds of meetings we've had.

"We now need to consider all the comments made."

Under the proposal, BHP would have moored a massive floating terminal 22 kilometres (14 miles) off the coast of Malibu, in order to unload and process LNG before pumping it ashore.

Australian Prime Minister John Howard travelled to Los Angeles in 2004 to lobby Schwarzenegger on behalf of BHP Billiton.