California ARB posts new LCFS fuel pathway for LNG from Arizona

12 October 2012

California Air Resources Board (ARB) staff has posted a new fuel pathway application under the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Method 2 pathway approval process for the production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in Arizona.

Applied Natural Gas Fuels, Inc. (ANGF) operates an LNG plant in Topock, Arizona, with the capacity to produce 90,000 gallons of LNG per day. The plant is sited adjacent to a pipeline system owned by Kinder Morgan; the pipeline system primarily conveys natural gas provided by an oil company from various North American wells. ANGF currently supplies the California transportation market from its two refueling stations in Barstow and Ontario.

The carbon intensity (CI) of the Topock LNG plant, as calculated by ANGF, is 85.77 gCO₂e/MJ of LNG produced. This CI is based on the LNG liquefaction plant efficiency using 2011 data, and is calculated based on the amount of gas received and amount of LNG produced.

The LCFS Lookup Table CI for North American LNG liquefied in California (at a liquefaction efficiency of 80%) is 83.13 gCO₂e/MJ. The greater transport distance and lower liquefaction efficiency for the ANGF plant are primarily responsible for the difference between the applicant’s CI and the Lookup Table value, according to staff.