[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54795-54796]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19618]


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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

[FE Docket No. 16-98-LNG]


Carib Energy (USA) LLC; Application for Long-Term, Multi-Contract 
Authorization To Export Liquefied Natural Gas to Non-Free Trade 
Agreement Nations in Central America, South America, or the Caribbean

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, DOE.

ACTION: Notice of application.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Fossil Energy (FE) of the Department of Energy 
(DOE) gives notice of receipt of an application, filed on March 25, 
2016 (Application), by Carib Energy (USA) LLC (Carib). Carib requests 
long-term, multi-contract authorization to export domestically produced 
liquefied natural gas (LNG) in a volume equivalent to approximately 1.3 
billion cubic feet (Bcf) per year (0.0036 Bcf per day) of natural 
gas.\1\ Carib Energy seeks to export the LNG by use of approved IMO7/
TVAC-ASME LNG (ISO) containers transported on ocean-going carriers to 
any country within Central America, South America, or the Caribbean 
that has, or in the future develops, the capacity to import LNG 
delivered by ocean-going container vessels carrying ISO containers,\2\ 
provided that trade is not prohibited by U.S. law or policy with that 
country, and provided further that the country has not entered into a 
free trade agreement with the United States requiring national 
treatment for trade in natural gas (non-FTA countries). Carib seeks to 
purchase the LNG for export from any of the existing natural gas 
liquefaction facilities listed in Appendix D of the Application 
(Facilities),\3\ which are owned and operated by Pivotal LNG, Inc. 
(Pivotal) or by one of Pivotal's affiliates.\4\ Carib states that 
delivery of LNG will be taken at the Facilities, and the LNG 
transported within the United States over highways using approved ISO 
containers. Carib intends to export the LNG from the ports of 
Jacksonville, Florida; Port Everglades, Florida; Gulfport, Mississippi; 
and any port in the southeastern United States capable of accommodating 
LNG exports by ISO containers transported on ocean-going container 
vessels. Carib seeks authorization to export this LNG for a 20-year 
period, commencing on the earlier of the date of first export or five 
years from the date the requested authorization is granted. The 
Application was filed under section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA). 
Additional details can be found in Carib's Application, posted on the 
DOE/FE Web site at: http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2016/07/f33/CaribEnergy16_98_LNGapp.pdf.
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    \1\ Carib clarified this requested quantity in an email to DOE/
FE dated July 18, 2016.
    \2\ Carib clarified its proposed mode of transport in an email 
to DOE/FE dated August 9, 2016.
    \3\ The Facilities include the following: The Trussville LNG 
facility (Trussville, Alabama), the Chattanooga LNG facility 
(Chattanooga, Tennessee), the Riverdale LNG facility (Riverdale, 
Georgia), the Cherokee LNG facility (Ball Ground, Georgia), and the 
Macon LNG facility (Macon, Georgia). Specifically, Carib states that 
it ``will purchase'' LNG from the Trussville and Chattanooga LNG 
facilities, and that, in the future, Pivotal ``also would have the 
ability to source LNG'' for sale to Carib from the other three 
Facilities, subject to any applicable regulatory approvals. App. at 
4.
    \4\ In Appendix C to the Application, Carib provides a summary 
of the Master LNG Purchase and Sale Agreement between Carib and 
Pivotal, dated March 12, 2014. According to Carib, that Agreement 
provides Carib the right to purchase a firm or interruptible supply 
of LNG from the Facilities of up to 1.3 Bcf/d of natural gas for a 
term of 20 years.
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    Protests, motions to intervene, notices of intervention, and 
written comments are invited.

DATES: Protests, motions to intervene or notices of intervention, as 
applicable, requests for additional procedures, and written comments 
are to be filed using procedures detailed in the Public Comment 
Procedures section no later than 4:30 p.m., Eastern time, October 17, 
2016.

ADDRESSES:
    Electronic Filing by email: [email protected].
    Regular Mail: U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), Office of 
Regulation and International Engagement, Office of Fossil Energy, P.O. 
Box 44375, Washington, DC 20026-4375.
    Hand Delivery or Private Delivery Services (e.g., FedEx, UPS, 
etc.): U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), Office of Regulation and 
International Engagement, Office of Fossil Energy, Forrestal Building, 
Room 3E-042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
    Beverly Howard, or Larine Moore, U.S. Department of Energy (FE-34), 
Office of Regulation and International Engagement, Office of Fossil 
Energy, Forrestal Building, Room 3E-042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., 
Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586-9387; (202) 586-9478.
    Edward Myers, U.S. Department of Energy (GC-76), Office of the 
Assistant General Counsel for Electricity and Fossil Energy, Forrestal 
Building, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 
586-3397.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

DOE/FE Evaluation

    The Application will be reviewed pursuant to section 3(a) of the 
NGA, 15 U.S.C. 717b(a), and DOE will consider any issues required by 
law or policy. To the extent determined to be relevant, these issues 
will include the domestic need for the natural gas proposed to be 
exported, the adequacy of domestic natural gas supply, and U.S. energy 
security. DOE may also consider other factors bearing on the public 
interest, including the impact of the proposed exports on the U.S. 
economy, international considerations, and whether the authorization is 
consistent with DOE's policy of promoting competition in the 
marketplace by allowing commercial parties to freely negotiate their 
own trade arrangements. As part of this analysis, DOE will consider the 
following two studies examining the cumulative impacts of exporting 
domestically produced LNG:


[[Page 54796]]


     Effect of Increased Levels of Liquefied Natural Gas on 
U.S. Energy Markets, conducted by the U.S. Energy Information 
Administration upon DOE's request (2014 EIA LNG Export Study); \5\ 
and
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    \5\ The 2014 EIA LNG Export Study, published on Oct. 29, 2014, 
is available at: https://www.eia.gov/analysis/requests/fe/.
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     The Macroeconomic Impact of Increasing U.S. LNG 
Exports, conducted jointly by the Center for Energy Studies at Rice 
University's Baker Institute for Public Policy and Oxford Economics, 
on behalf of DOE (2015 LNG Export Study).\6\
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    \6\ The 2015 LNG Export Study, dated Oct. 29, 2015, is available 
at: http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/12/f27/20151113_macro_impact_of_lng_exports_0.pdf.
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    Additionally, DOE will consider the following environmental 
document:
     Addendum to Environmental Review Documents Concerning 
Exports of Natural Gas From the United States, 79 FR 48132 (Aug. 15, 
2014).\7\
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    \7\ The Addendum and related documents are available at http://energy.gov/fe/addendum-environmental-review-documents-concerning-exports-natural-gas-united-states.

    Parties that may oppose this Application should address these 
issues in their comments and/or protests, as well as other issues 
deemed relevant to the Application.
    The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et 
seq., requires DOE to give appropriate consideration to the 
environmental effects of its proposed decisions. No final decision will 
be issued in this proceeding until DOE has met its environmental 
responsibilities.

Public Comment Procedures

    In response to this Notice, any person may file a protest, 
comments, or a motion to intervene or notice of intervention, as 
applicable. Due to the complexity of the issues raised by the 
Applicant, interested persons will be provided 60 days from the date of 
publication of this Notice in which to submit comments, protests, 
motions to intervene, or notices of intervention.
    Any person wishing to become a party to the proceeding must file a 
motion to intervene or notice of intervention. The filing of comments 
or a protest with respect to the Application will not serve to make the 
commenter or protestant a party to the proceeding, although protests 
and comments received from persons who are not parties will be 
considered in determining the appropriate action to be taken on the 
Application. All protests, comments, motions to intervene, or notices 
of intervention must meet the requirements specified by the regulations 
in 10 CFR part 590.
    Filings may be submitted using one of the following methods: (1) 
Emailing the filing to [email protected], with FE Docket No. 16-98-LNG 
in the title line; (2) mailing an original and three paper copies of 
the filing to the Office of Regulation and International Engagement at 
the address listed in ADDRESSES; or (3) hand delivering an original and 
three paper copies of the filing to the Office of Regulation and 
International Engagement at the address listed in ADDRESSES. All 
filings must include a reference to FE Docket No. 16-98-LNG. PLEASE 
NOTE: If submitting a filing via email, please include all related 
documents and attachments (e.g., exhibits) in the original email 
correspondence. Please do not include any active hyperlinks or password 
protection in any of the documents or attachments related to the 
filing. All electronic filings submitted to DOE must follow these 
guidelines to ensure that all documents are filed in a timely manner. 
Any hardcopy filing submitted greater in length than 50 pages must also 
include, at the time of the filing, a digital copy on disk of the 
entire submission.
    A decisional record on the Application will be developed through 
responses to this notice by parties, including the parties' written 
comments and replies thereto. Additional procedures will be used as 
necessary to achieve a complete understanding of the facts and issues. 
If an additional procedure is scheduled, notice will be provided to all 
parties. If no party requests additional procedures, a final Opinion 
and Order may be issued based on the official record, including the 
Application and responses filed by parties pursuant to this notice, in 
accordance with 10 CFR 590.316.
    The Application is available for inspection and copying in the 
Office of Regulation and International Engagement docket room, Room 3E-
042, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585. The docket 
room is open between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays.
    The Application and any filed protests, motions to intervene or 
notice of interventions, and comments will also be available 
electronically by going to the following DOE/FE Web address: http://www.fe.doe.gov/programs/gasregulation/index.html.

    Issued in Washington, DC, on August 11, 2016.
John A. Anderson,
Director, Office of Regulation and International Engagement, Office of 
Oil and Natural Gas.
[FR Doc. 2016-19618 Filed 8-16-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6450-01-P