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today signed labor agreements with two union trade organizations indicating a 鈥渕ajor milestone鈥� for its proposed liquefied natural gas terminal in Warrenton, according to CEO Peter Hansen.

After years of regulatory wrangling, the agreements with the and the give project leaders confidence that the state and federal permits will go through.

Oregon LNG aims to begin construction in 2014. Construction costs are estimated at more than $6 billion, although the company is still finalizing the project scope, which may include LNG import, export or both.

Oregon LNG has been in discussions with union trade groups for more than a year leading up to today’s signoff, according to Hansen. The agreement is similar to a project labor agreement and establishes union bargaining rights to determine the wage rates and benefits. The agreement also prevents strikes and lockouts.

鈥淚 am very pleased that we have the support of the tens of thousands of union workers represented by these two labor organizations. It also represents our commitment to ensure we will be paying family-wage jobs with benefits to skilled workers right here in Oregon and Washington,鈥� Hansen said in a written statement sent exclusively to the 91视频.

The company also announced today that it will provide special consideration to small Warrenton-based businesses to help them compete for sub-contracts on the project.