“Construction of the facility will begin this summer, and we look forward to the first flow of gas into the pipeline from the Bear Head LNG plant in 2008,” declared Nova Scotia Business Inc. president Stephen Lund.
It was 2005, and the head of the Crown corporation tasked with economic development was announcing the sale of a 172-acre industrial site at Bear Head, near Port Hawkesbury, for $4.62 million.
“This project in the Strait of Canso region will have a major impact on the economic future of the province and the energy supply chain in North America,” said Lund of the liquefied natural gas import terminal, adding that its construction would create 600 jobs and revitalize the Strait of Canso area.
None of that happened.
And now, you can put in a bid on the project . . . if you want it.
But you’ve got to get it to PwC Australia by 5 p.m. (Australian Standard Time) Friday.
Australia-based LNG Ltd is seeking someone to buy it or recapitalize the company.
The company sold its only other major asset, a proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal in Louisiana dubbed Magnolia LNG, earlier this month to New York energy company Glenfarne Group for $2 million.
Bear Head, like Magnolia, has all the permits and environmental approvals required to begin construction.
It too had switched from a LNG import to export terminal after the explosion of production of natural gas precipitated by fracking south of the border swamped North America with natural gas.
But like the two other projects proposing to export American natural gas carried north via the Maritimes Northeast Pipeline onto ships bound for energy-hungry markets in Europe, the stumbling block was finding the billions of dollars required to build it.
It’s been a hard spring for LNG export terminals.
Earlier this month, Pieridae Energy announced that engineering firm Kellogg Brown and Root was no longer willing to enter into a fixed-price design, build and commission contract under the terms it had previously committed to.
In May, the Alberta Energy Regulator refused to allow the transfer of assets, including two gas processing plants, Pieridae is purchasing from Shell Canada because it would split the cleanup liability.
That deal with Shell to buy the gas plants and wells in Western Canada provided Pieridae with an immediate revenue source and in the long term a supply of gas for its proposed export terminal at Goldboro. Pieridae and Shell are reportedly negotiating a solution to satisfy the regulator.
Unlike Bear Head, Pieridae has sales agreements in place for much of its expected production and a loan guarantee from the German government, which itself is seeking to free itself from dependence on Russian imports.
Like Bear Head, Pieridae needs billions of dollars to begin construction.
According to provincial property records Bear Head LNG still owns the land in the area of the Point Tupper industrial park.
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Source: The Chronicle Hearld | This text was excerpted from the media outlet cited on July 22, 2020 and is provided to Noia members for information purposes only. Any opinion expressed therein is neither attributable to nor endorsed by Noia.
