Cianbro seeks LNG terminal in Gouldsboro
Portland Press Herald
Thursday, September 2, 2004

By TUX TURKEL, Portland Press Herald Writer

Maine's largest construction company is joining the race to build a liquefied natural gas terminal on the Maine coast, proposing a $300 million facility in the Hancock County town of Gouldsboro.

Officials from Pittsfield-based Cianbro Corp. will go to the town a week from today to outline their plans for a terminal on 450 acres that were formerly part of a Navy surveillance base near Cranberry Point in Corea, a harbor village on Gouldsboro's eastern shore. Town voters would have to approve the concept for the plan to move ahead.

Pete Vigue, Cianbro's president and chief executive officer, told the Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram on Wednesday that he saw the LNG terminal as more than just another project for his company. Maine's high energy costs are an obstacle to bringing new business to the state, he said, and an increased gas supply could help lower prices. Acknowledging the controversy associated with trying to site an LNG terminal on the coast, Vigue said Cianbro can build a project that won't pose an undue threat to the environment.

"We believe there's an opportunity to create a model facility that can coexist with a community," he said.

Cianbro's proposal is the latest bid to ship LNG from overseas to help satisfy New England's growing energy demand.

Last month, Maine's Passamaquoddy Indians voted to negotiate with Quoddy Bay LLC, an energy development partnership in Tulsa, Okla., to build an LNG terminal on a 42-acre site on Passamaquoddy Bay near Eastport. Also in play are proposals by Access Northeast Energy Inc. in Nova Scotia and Irving Oil in New Brunswick to be first to get access to the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline that serves New England. Both the Canadian projects have received provincial environmental approvals.

Additional terminals have been proposed in Providence, R.I., Fall River and Somerset, Mass., and another location offshore in Massachusetts. A plan for an LNG terminal on Casco Bay was rejected this year by voters in Harpswell.

LNG is natural gas supercooled to liquid form for transport by sea in special tankers. Once at the terminal, it is converted back to vapor and pumped into pipelines. The Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline carries natural gas from Sable Island off Nova Scotia to markets in Maine and the Northeast.

Cianbro hasn't lined up any suppliers for its proposed terminal, Vigue said, but the facility could handle up to 1 million cubic feet of gas per day. Roughly 600 workers would be needed to build the terminal, and 100 to operate it. The project would take at least three years to build, not including the time needed to win state and federal permits.

Cianbro has 2,000 employees, most of them in Maine. The company has worked on dozens of large industrial projects and has been involved with building two of the state's gas-fired power plants. It recently finished building two large, portable oil rigs in Portland Harbor, and has been trying to use its experience to expand into marine projects.

Vigue said he believes the Corea site is the best location in Maine for an LNG terminal because of its deep water and easy ocean access. The company also has identified two routes from the site to the Maritimes & Northeast pipeline; one is 40 miles long, the other 25 miles.

The site targeted by Cianbro was formerly used by the Navy for military surveillance operations. It was associated with the Navy base in nearby Winter Harbor, which closed in 2002.

Gouldsboro has a population of about 2,000. The town's largest employer is a canning plant in Prospect Harbor, where roughly 150 employees pack sardines and fish steaks. Lobster fishing accounts for about 60 percent of revenue in town, said Brad Vassey, Gouldsboro's town manager.

Vassey said the meeting next Thursday evening will be held next to Town Hall in Prospect Harbor. He expects residents who attend will have many questions about the potential impact on fishing and the coastal environment. But he also believes Cianbro's reputation as a respected Maine company will give Vigue some standing.

"I think the initial reaction will be negative," Vassey said. "But if anyone can bring this off, I think it would be Pete Vigue."

Gouldsboro also has a growing number of retirees who have moved to town for its coastal scenery and beauty. Vassey said he expects opposition from them.

"They didn't move here to live next to a gas plant," he said.

The reaction in Gouldsboro also will be watched by Jack Cashman, the state's economic development director. The state has come out in favor of an LNG terminal, but says it's up to local communities to decide whether they want to host one.

Some environmental groups have suggested the state should conduct a comprehensive review of the best sites on the coast for an LNG terminal, but Cashman said that's not realistic. The process could take years and cost millions of dollars, and there would be no assurance that any town identified would support the project. Many of the questions that would be raised, he said, can only be answered as part of a federal and state permitting process. That's why it makes more sense for towns such as Gouldsboro to weigh in first.

"We're here to be helpful," he said, "but it's up to the local communities to signal their interest."

Staff Writer Tux Turkel can be contacted at 791-6462 or at:

tturkel@pressherald.com