Natural gas pipeline proposed for NJ coast

A Canadian energy company and privately held New York firm are looking to build a deep-water natural gas pipeline off the coast of New Jersey.

The $550 million project, called the Liberty Natural Gas Transmission Project, is being touted by the companies as a clean energy source with minimal environmental impact that won't be visible from the shore.

Under the proposal by Excalibur Energy, a joint venture between the New York-based Global LNG Inc. and Canadian Superior Energy Inc., the pipeline would stretch about 50 miles and have four underwater turrets on the seabed 15 miles due east of Asbury Park. Buoys attached to the turrets would hook up to supply ships.

The liquefied natural gas carried by the ships would be re-gasified onboard and pumped through the turrets into the pipeline, the company said.

The pipeline would head north around Sandy Hook and reach land in the area of South Amboy or Perth Amboy, using some existing lines to get to Linden, according to project spokesman Steven Some.

Excalibur CEO Roger Weylan said the pipeline _ if approved by regulators _ would provide up to 2.4 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day by late 2011 _ enough to supply 11 million households.

Weylan said the regulatory requirements for the project were "extensive and challenging, but very clear."

He said the company had polled 1,000 residents along the Jersey shore and incorporated their feedback into the design.

"It's a market seeking natural gas fuel at a price they can afford," Weylan said.

This is the third natural gas facility recently proposed for the New Jersey coast.

Exxon Mobil wants to build a $1 billion floating liquefied natural gas terminal in the waters 20 miles from Asbury Park. Another proposal from Atlantic Sea Island would cost $1.7 billion and be located offshore near Sandy Hook.

All three proposals need to pass state and federal regulatory scrutiny.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club, said he was concerned about where the gas would come from for the proposed pipeline, but said the design of the underwater facility was better than other terminals that would leave a bigger environmental footprint.

"Some groups are automatically opposed to any such facility, but we think LNG has the potential to replace dirty coal with an interim fuel that's much cleaner than coal," Tittel said.