Department of Revolving Doors

Joe Desmond, the energy advisor to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has taken a new job with a Houston-based company seeking to operate a liquefied natural gas terminal about 12 miles off the Ventura County coastline. Desmond will be senior vice president of external affairs for NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc. and provide "counsel and guidance as the company seeks to develop environmentally safe, sensitive importation terminals in California and Oregon," the company announced.

NorthernStar will have to negotiate with California officials and Desmond's old boss, Schwarzenegger, to finalize the rights to build the terminal. Under the Deepwater Port Act, the governor can veto the final license for offshore LNG projects. Schwarzenegger said in his 2003 campaign that he was generally supportive of building more LNG terminals, and Desmond told The Times last year that California needs to develop more natural gas importation from other countries. The NorthernStar terminal is proposed to begin operating in 2009.

Desmond is the former chairman of the California Energy Commission — which recently released a report calling for more LNG supply — but Desmond's job there ended when the state Senate refused to confirm him. Lawmakers thought he was too sympathetic to building coal-fired power plants and favored deregulation of the energy industry. Schwarzenegger then appointed him as undersecretary of energy affairs in the Resources Agency.

The NorthernStar terminal is one of a handful being proposed for California's coast. BHP Billiton wants to build a terminal about 14 miles off the Ventura County coastline, and Australia-based Woodside Energy Ltd. has proposed another facility about 22 miles off Los Angeles.

UPDATE: Under state law, Desmond cannot have any communication with the Resources Agency for a year after leaving government service. In an interview, Desmond said that also would include the state Lands Commission, the Energy Commission and the Coastal Commission -- all of which have a part in the NorthernStar terminal deal. But the law does allow him to communicate with the administration itself, including chief of staff Susan Kennedy and Schwarzenegger, and the Legislature.

Desmond said California imports 87% of its natural gas, about half of which is used to make electricity. He said additional natural gas supplies could bring down costs. "The single most effective thing we can do is to find a way to lower the cost of gas, and having additional sources of supply brings downward pressure" on the market.