PORTLAND -- The Port of Portland and Pembina Pipeline Corporation of Canada announced an agreement on Tuesday for a propane export terminal involving a $500 million investment from the company.
Pembina’s plan involves shipping up to 37,000 barrels of propane per day from its Edmonton facility to a terminal on the Columbia River in Portland's Rivergate Industrial District. From there, it would be stored and later loaded onto vessels taking it down the Columbia River and across the Pacific to buyers in China, Korea and Japan. As many as 37,000 barrels of propane per day could come through the terminal.
The $500 million from Pembina is one of the largest private investments in the city's history, according to the port.
Still in its earliest stages with many designs and permits ahead, the terminal could be operational by 2018 at the earliest. The port estimates it could create between 600 and 800 construction jobs and 40 permanent jobs. The port also states estimated annual tax revenues of $3.3 million to the City of Portland, $2.4 million to Multnomah County and $3.1 million to Portland Public Schools.
"This is great news," Portland Mayor Charlie Hales said in a statement. "We welcome this investment and these jobs in Portland. The city is committed to growing our economy on the land we already have, and holding industry to very high environmental and public safety standards. This proposal meets these goals."
The preliminary agreement marks the latest of several current and proposed fossil fuel export terminals in the Pacific Northwest including natural gas, coal and crude oil.
The Port of Portland has previously said no to projects involving coal and crude oil, controversial because of concerns over environmental health and public safety.
"Building trust with the communities where we operate is a top priority for Pembina,” Mick Dilger, Pembina's President and CEO, said in a statement. “Over the last 60 years, we've developed a reputation for honesty, transparency and treating our stakeholders with respect."
The port considered three factors in its agreement with Pembina, port spokesman Josh Thomas said: safety, economic value and community interests.
"The answer on all three of those is a definitive yes,” Thomas said.
Gases such as propane and butane are byproducts of oil field production, which has boomed in recent years.
Some companies burn off mass quantities of the gases on-site, but many projects are in the works attempting to profit off the gases through exports. In April, a propane and butane export terminal was proposed in Longview, Washington.
Propane’s reputation as a cleaner burning fuel, particularly compared to coal, was a factor in the port’s agreement. Rail shipments of propane also haven’t received the same scrutiny as shipments of crude oil, which captured national attention and prompted new train safety legislation after several explosions across North America.
Data from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration show 80 spills, fires or explosions over the past 10 years involving rail shipments of petroleum gases such as propane and butane. None have occurred in Oregon or Washington in that time span. That’s compared to 442 over the same time span for petroleum crude oil, shipments of which have increased exponentially in recent years, far more than petroleum gases.
Ensuring safe rail transport is “something that obviously as we move forward we’ll want to work very closely with Pembina and the railroads on, but it is transported now,” Thomas said. “Propane has widespread distribution and use in this country and has a good track record -- long and safe history.”
We’ll be updating this story as we get more information.
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