Department of Transportation, United States of America: The Secretary's Decision on the Deepwater Port License Application of Gulf Landing, LLC., Washington, DC., February 16, 2005.

摘要

The Deepwater Port Act of 1974, as amended in 1984, 1996 and 2002 (hereinafter the Act) declared it to be the purpose of Congress to 'authorize and regulate the location, ownership, construction, and operation of deepwater ports in waters beyond the territorial limits of the United States.' Deepwater ports, as the term has been amended, includes facilities constructed seaward of State territorial waters which are used as terminals to transfer natural gas, usually received in the form of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from LNG carriers, to onshore storage facilities and pipelines. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), energy consumption in the United States is expected to increase ore rapidly than domestic energy production through 2025. Further, natural gas demand is expected to exceed domestic production during this period requiring a more than doubling of natural gas imports by 2025. Natural gas can be imported via pipelines from neighboring nations or by ship using specialized LNG carriers. In order to receive LNG, specialized port facilities are required. To meet the expected demand for LNG imports, which are projected by DOE to increase from 0.4 trillion cubic feet in 2003 to 6.4 trillion cubic feet in 2025, several more import facilities or facility expansions will be necessary.