The Cove Point Transfer Station is located in Lusby, Calvert County, Maryland. It is a Natural Gas Liquification Plant. It was originally built in 1993 and construction on a renovation started in late 2014. Construction was completed in April 2018. The primary reason to expand was to increase their ability to liquify gas. The purpose of liquefying natural gas is so that Maryland and the United States can actually be a net exporter of energy. This is only possible due to the recent boom in the controversial fracking method, which is to get natural gas out of the ground. Cove Point is ground zero for this economic development.

Now it is a running plant and working at capacity since April 2018. The construction phase of the project was completed in late 2017, but they had to do shut downs, testing, commissioning and other finalization work up until April 2018. Cove Point does have a local power plant but the primary work done there is gas liquification.

The roumered budget was upwards of $6,000,000,000. Whatever the exact number is, it was the biggest budget of a single construction project in Maryland history.

This construction project brought over 3000 jobs to the community in the course of those 4 years. A lot of hotels were full in St. Mary’s County and Calvert County during that time, giving a boost to the Southern Maryland economy.

One Steel Worker gave some insight into what working on the job was like. There was some sort of construction on 9 different buildings in total. He worked in the “lay down yard” for the majority of the project, helping organize a lot of pipe, racks and structural steel. It was a very limited site, small and compact. There was a 60 foot sound wall to protect the community from noise. They had buses going back and forth from the hotels to minimize the parking lot sizes. Site management would clean the roads in an effort to lessen the impact on the community. Plans are in place to also repave the roads now that the construction is complete.

Anytime there was a load that was oversized, they used a Police Escort, triple checking the loads, making sure there were no loose materials. In addition to the sound wall, there was a fence around the job to keep the area separated from the community.

The site was very active and this proved to be one of the main challenges at the Cove Point Transfer Station. Sheet Metal workers, Electricians, Pipe Fitters and many other trades were vying for space

Due to political roadblocks, the project started off slow in 2014, since there are those who oppose the process of obtaining Natural Gas. Once summer 2016 rolled around, the job was really booming and continued fast paced until the end.

Another challenge they faced on the construction was changes in design. One of the biggest problems was having the right prints at the right time. There was a lot of customization done on the job.

They had a safety program that included a CVIS program (Craft Voice In Safety). They gave out purple vests to those who would be safety mentors. They would watch out for tasks done unsafely and commend those doing tasks properly and safely. Meetings were held once a week to discuss Job Hazard Analysis and Work Hazard Intervention Plans. These were filled out every time they change their task. Toolbox Talks were also an opportunity to remind workers to work safely. As an incentive to promote the safety culture, if someone is doing something safe, oversight would give away gift cards and t-shirts.

The plant primarily generates income by their deals with foreign countries.  They have deals with countries like India and Japan who will pay high dollar for liquified natural gas.

Calvert County Roofing LLC services St. Mary’s County, Charles County and Calvert County – including these towns:

• Dunkirk, MD
• Chesapeake Beach, MD
• Huntingtown, MD
• Prince Fredrick, MD
• St. Leonard, MD
• Lusby, MD
• Solomons, MD
• Owings, MD
• Long Beach, MD
• North Beach, MD
• Drum Point, MD
• Calvert Beach, MD
• Broomes Island, MD

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  Oil Engineer