LNG terminal proposal: 2 decisions favorable

Two decisions this week have boosted the prospects for liquefied natural gas company Oregon LNG's proposal to build a terminal on 92 acres near Youngs Bay.

A federal magistrate ruled Tuesday that Astoria's Port should extend both its sublease with Oregon LNG and its lease with the Department of State Lands for three decades, despite the port's concerns that it might lose money if the LNG terminal doesn't pan out.

Then Gov. Ted Kulongoski's office said Wednesday it won't investigate the port's lease with the state as anti-LNG activists had requested, even though the $38,400 annual lease price was based on an appraisal that assumed the land would be used for a golf course, rather than a $1 billion LNG plant.

The company is pursuing permits for the terminal from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the states of Oregon and Washington. Its CEO, Peter Hansen, says he expects approval of major permits by late 2010.

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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com