Case Study: Gulf LNG
The Cirlot Agency was hired to help educate the public in Moss Point, MS, regarding a proposed Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Terminal in their area. With a lack of knowledge concerning LNG, the public had a negative perception regarding the location of an LNG terminal in their community. Many citizens feared the LNG could explode. Another fear was that the terminal could possibly leak, causing a cloud of LNG to travel over a city or town with the chance that static electricity could ignite the cloud. The opposition was positioning LNG as a deadly substance, though there is no scientific evidence to back up their claims. In all actuality, there are many benefits to having the facility located in that area, including economic benefits, job creation, increased commercial activity and, most importantly, the assurance of a steady supply of clean, efficient energy for both future and existing consumers.

The Cirlot Agency employed a variety of Public Relations tactics to educate the community about the benefits of having the terminal in their area and to dispel the rumors and falsehoods that surrounded Gulf LNG’s Clean Energy Project. The main PR focus quickly turned to educating the public on an individual basis. Part of our strategy was to have as many small group meetings as possible in order to prevent a mob-mentality from occurring during the federally mandated public meeting conducted by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Following these small-group meetings, The Cirlot Agency coordinated an Open House at which residents were able to ask any additional questions concerning the import terminal or LNG. It was also an opportunity to provide a live demonstration using actual LNG to introduce the energy source to the citizens. The demonstration included pouring out LNG and exposing it to an open flame. This was considered the turning point of public opinion concerning the project, in that hundreds of thousands of citizens viewed the demonstration on the evening news all along the Gulf Coast, read the numerous newspaper accounts and saw the photos graphically illustrating the safety of LNG.

The timeframe of having an LNG terminal site successfully permitted is approximately three years. The most crucial period of that three year span is the first six months, as this is the only time during the process that a lack of community support could close down the project. The Cirlot Agency’s contributions in guiding Gulf LNG through educating the public and enlisting their support was deemed a success by not only the client, but was also cited by the FERC as a “model of how to initiate and sustain a public awareness campaign.”