ABS Consulting Implements Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for LNG Waterway Suitability Assessments

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ABS Consulting Implements Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for LNG Waterway Suitability Assessments

August 12, 2005

In helping clients perform Waterway Suitability Assessments (WSA) for proposed LNG terminals, ABS Consulting has applied its expertise in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). The GIS approach implemented by ABS Consulting's WSA team allows integration and visualization of marine navigation, population, critical infrastructure, sensitive populations (e.g. schools and hospitals), and other geographic information.

This visualization helps the WSA team identify appropriate safety and security measures for the LNG carrier transit. The interactive maps provided by the application of GIS allow the "Zones of Concern," as defined in the Sandia National Laboratories LNG carrier report and outlined in the US Coast Guard Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular on WSA (NVIC 05-05), to be viewed by the team while conducting the assessment. Using the population data, the WSA team can focus on the areas where the Zones of Concern potentially could affect large populations by indicating where the Zones of Concern overlap with census blocks representing high and medium population areas.

"The need for GIS support for the review of transportation of LNG in U.S. waterways has allowed us to bring to bear expertise that ABS Consulting has typically employed in the government-sponsored risk analysis, external hazard consulting and emergency response planning areas of our operations. Our LNG clients are now seeing the same benefits that GIS capabilities can bring to their projects. The readily available high quality geographic information contributes to better informed risk-based decision-making," said Myron Casada, Vice President—Marine, Offshore, Ports and Terminals, ABS Consulting.

About ABS Consulting

ABS Consulting is a global safety, risk and integrity management company with nearly a half century of experience completing challenging projects in all parts of the world in the oil and gas, chemical process, nuclear, government, maritime and insurance industries. An affiliated company of ABS, ABS Consulting has offices in over 39 countries and over 1,300 employees worldwide. ABS Consulting headquarters are located in Houston.

Learn more about ABS Consulting.

For more information, Contact:

Kristy Evenson
ABS Consulting
1-281-673-2945 | kevenson@absconsulting.com