The CEAA gives the go-ahead on construction of a LNG plant in Nova Scotia
Liquid Natural Gas Limited’s (ticker: LNGLY; LNG Ltd.) Bear Head LNG facility has received a green light from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA). The CEAA concluded the proposed design will be substantially the same as that which was previously submitted and approved under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, reports LNG Industry.
Prior owners spent more than $100 million to design and complete engineering work and site construction of Bear Head LNG in the early to mid 2000’s. In August 2014, LNG Ltd. acquired the project from Anadarko Petroleum Corp. (ticker: APC) for $11 million, giving LNG Ltd. its second North American LNG project after the Magnolia LNG project in Louisiana. The site was partially developed and then maintained in hot idle status.
The CEAA noted that since some construction of the LNG facility has already taken place, the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012 (CEAA 2012) does not apply to the LNG component of the project. In addition, the proposed installed gas-fired power generation will not trigger CEAA 2012 since the project will not use natural gas to generate electricity.
The Bear Head LNG project is located in the Strait of Canso in Point Tupper, Richmond County, Nova Scotia. It is being developed on a 255-acre site comprising industrial-zoned land (180 acres) and deep-water acreage (75 acres).
Bear Head LNG has 12 permits in place to build an LNG facility, including approved Environmental Assessment; permits to construct a gas plant facility from Nova Scotia Environmental and the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board.
Source: Bear Head LNG Corp.
The initial annual production capacity of the project is expected to reach eight million tons per annum. If market demand increases, the site has potential to support a greater production capacity. The facility will include LNG liquefaction trains, LNG storage tanks, a marine terminal and associated infrastructure.
The existing design for the marine terminal is for vessels sized between 125,000 cubic meters and 267,000 cubic meters. It is anticipated that approximately 82 to 124 vessels per year will take delivery at the Bear Head LNG site, depending on the size of vessels used.
Last December, Bear Head LNG Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of LNG Ltd., filed for an export licenses with the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The application was for the authorization to export natural gas to Canada for 25 years. Bear Head LNG is seeking long-term, multi-contract authorization to export up to 503 Bcf per annum, or 1.4 Bcf/day, by pipeline to Canada.
The company says the LNG project has several competitive advantages over other LNG projects. The location in Nova Scotia is about half the shipping distance to major European markets compared to U.S. Gulf Coast ports. The site’s location also puts it closer to markets in India than other North American projects, including those that could be built in British Columbia.
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