USA: TGC Picks CH2M HILL to Bring Natural Gas to Hawaii

The Gas Company (TGC) has selected CH2M HILL as its principal engineering consultant to help implement its plans to introduce Natural Gas to the Hawaii energy market.

CH2M HILL is a global engineering services company with more than $6.4 billion in revenue serving the energy and infrastructure industries.

The Gas Company serves Hawaii with Synthetic Natural Gas (SNG), Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) and Biofuels, and Propane (LPG) through utility and tank and bottled gas systems.

“Natural Gas is a clean and abundant alternative to the oil based fuels now supplying more than 90 percent of Hawaii’s energy requirements,” said Jeff Kissel, president and CEO of The Gas Company.

“Natural Gas is available from secure sources in North America. It can be liquefied and transported to Hawaii at a cost which TGC believes will be well below the current cost of oil. Moreover the price of Natural Gas is expected to remain below the cost of oil for many years to come,” Kissel said. “When used for power generation, it has the added advantage of providing high-efficiency, low-carbon support for the wind and solar power sources slated for introduction in Hawaii.”

CH2M HILL, in this initial role, will provide economic and feasibility assessments, cost estimates, environmental, logistical and other necessary engineering and safety expertise to assist TGC as it prepares to bring Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Hawaii’s gas customers over the next few years, subject to regulatory approval and critical community considerations.

TGC plans first to introduce small quantities of LNG into its systems serving Honolulu, and the larger Neighbor Island communities for residential and commercial applications.

Natural Gas will also be made available for industrial applications including power generation, agriculture and infrastructure projects.

A subsidiary of Macquarie Infrastructure Company, The Gas Company has the resources and is committed to making a major investment in Natural Gas infrastructure to bring this low cost fuel to Hawaii as soon as regulatory and environmental considerations permit.

Macquarie Infrastructure Company purchased TGC in 2006 and has continuously reinvested a substantial portion of TGC earnings in infrastructure and improvements.

CH2M HILL has been doing business in Hawaii since 1978, with an office of some 50 professionals on-site, and has the expertise to assist TGC with this project in a way that takes into account Hawaii’s special physical and cultural conditions.

Hawaii imports more than 42 million barrels of oil each year at a cost approaching 15 percent of its $64 billion gross domestic product. Natural Gas has the potential to reduce this substantial burden on the state’s economy.

The Gas Company itself is producing Renewable Natural Gas (RNG) at its plant in Campbell Industrial Park on Oahu and will be blending RNG with Natural Gas to bring added value and sustainability to the community.

The Gas Company, LLC, (TGC) provides clean, reliable and efficient gas energy to residential, business and government customers in every community across Hawaii’s six major islands — Oahu, Maui, Hawaii, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai. Next to the sun itself, gas is the most efficient way to heat water, cook food and dry clothes.

TGC makes synthetic natural gas (SNG) at the only facility of its kind in the United States and supplies it through a 1,100-mile pipeline network to nearly 30,000 commercial and residential utility customers on Oahu.

TGC also supplies tank and bottled propane gas to more than 40,000 customers statewide.

The Gas Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Macquarie Infrastructure Company. MIC owns, operates and invests in a diversified group of infrastructure businesses that provide basic services to customers across the United States.

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LNG World News Staff, June 05, 2012; Image: hawaiigas