Sukanto Tanoto, the Indonesian businessman at the head of the $15 billion RGE Group of companies he founded, has consistently focused on the health and safety of his employees and the local communities that host his companies. His threefold personal and corporate philosophy focuses on benefitting the community, the country, and the company. With that in mind, the RGE efforts to develop a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility and export hub near Vancouver, British Columbia, have emphasized compliance with all relevant government safety regulations, and best practices in responsibility to the public.
RGE’s Woodfibre LNG project has focused on safety, both on water and on land, throughout every stage of its proposed operations in Canada. The company plans a small-scale LNG facility, at which a maximum of four carrier boats would dock each month, each guided by tugboats in a manner that does not infringe on the safe movement of other watercraft in the area. In addition, Woodfibre is committed to upholding the highest engineering and construction standards in the build-out of the new facility. All materials used will be in congruence with industry and government best practices. The proposed LNG facility would also employ an advanced spill-detection apparatus and emergency cut-off systems.
These rigorous practices add an additional level of safety onto the fact that experts consider the liquefied natural gas industry very safe. LNG is neither naturally explosive, nor is it typically stored under pressure. While it is possible for a fire to result from a massive amount of liquefied natural gas expelled into the air, this would only happen if exactly the right concentration of gas vapor were present, along with a practical source to create combustion. Within an unconfined area, the methane vapors present in LNG are not explosive when they encounter air.