The United States Department of Energy issued an order granting long-term, multi-contract authorization to export natural gas to Canada and other free trade agreement nations to Pieridae Energy.
The company intends to use the 292 billion cubic feet per year of US sourced natural gas as feedstock in a proposed Goldboro LNG project to be located at the Goldboro Industrial Park in Guysborough County, Nova Scotia. Natural gas would be liquefied at the facility and re-exported as LNG by vessel to one or more countries with which the United States has a free trade agreement and any other country with which trade is not prohibited.
The Goldboro LNG project will be capable of producing approximately 10 million metric tons per annum of LNG from two substantially identical liquefaction production facilities. It will also have a natural gas treatment and compression equipment, marine loading facilities, as well as ancillary facilities. Additionally, the project will have at least two full containment, cryogenic, LNG storage tanks, each with a capacity of up to 230,000 cubic meters.
DOE granted Pieridae authorization to export U.S.-sourced natural gas by pipeline from the United States to Canada for end use in Canada and/or, after liquefaction in Canada, by vessel from the proposed Goldboro LNG project to FTA countries for end use in FTA countries for a period of 20 years.
However, DOE said in its order that the portion of the application that seeks authorization to export to non-FTA countries remains pending in the current docket and will be reviewed separately.
DOE stated that in determining whether an export is to a FTA or nonFTA country, DOE/FE believes it must look to the trade status of the country in which the natural gas or LNG is delivered for end use. To do otherwise would allow exporters to evade the public interest review and opportunity for public participation afforded in non-FTA export proceedings simply by transiting the natural gas or LNG through a FTA country en route to a non-FTA country.
Pieridae Energy expects to start commercial operations at the facility in early 2019.
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LNG World News Staff; Image: Goldboro LNG