Recent decisions by the Port of Long Beach and two powerful state commissions to kill competing LNG terminals appear to have temporarily halted proposals to import the fuel from overseas.

But while all the LNG drama has been playing out, executives at Esperanza Energy in San Antonio have been quietly taking notes, developing a plan for an alternative terminal 15 miles off the coast of Long Beach.

By learning from other energy companies’ mistakes, Esperanza is hoping to avoid the security and environmental pitfalls that ultimately doomed other sites.

The Port Esperanza project, as it’s called, attempts to bypass three primary concerns people seem to have with LNG terminals – air pollution, security and aesthetics.

More than two years in development, the proposed Esperanza site would sit near existing oil platforms about 15 miles from Long Beach. The terminal would be no larger than half the size of the petroleum platforms.

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