Public perception of the risks of liquefied natural gas terminals in Mexico: a prioritisation of communication strategies

A multicriteria scenario based methodology is used to select among strategies for communicating risk to the public about liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals. The strategies provide the public with information on the risks of the deployment and operation of LNG terminals. A selection of the strategies will improve public understanding of the risk-based approach used in the siting and regulatory permitting process of LNG terminals, and will supplement current risk assessment processes. The strategies consider likelihood and consequences rather than only consequences under a catastrophic scenario. This paper prioritises selections of the risk communication strategies in a context of improving LNG risk management, energy security, and energy reliability. Importantly, the paper identifies what are the conditions that should most influence the prioritisation of the strategies, addressing scenarios that include long-term supply and demand, price fluctuation, markets and competition, regulatory policies, announcements of major investments, environmental change, and others.