Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd.’s Bear Head LNG Corp. has applied to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for authorization to export natural gas to Canada for a 25-year period in support of its Nova Scotia liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project.

Bear Head is seeking long-term, multi-contract authorization to export up to 503 Bcf per year, or 1.4 Bcf/d, of U.S. gas by pipeline to Canada, where it would be liquefied for export at the proposed Bear Head terminal.

“This represents a significant step forward for our LNG export facility at Bear Head, NS,” said Bear Head COO John Godbold. “With all of Bear Head LNG’s major Canadian approvals in place or moving through the regulatory process, we are on schedule to begin commercial operation in late 2018 to early 2019.”

This is the first of the various applications Bear Head expects to file with DOE to export LNG to free trade agreement (FTA) and non-FTA nations.

The facility is to be capable of receiving, processing and liquefying natural gas, storing LNG, and loading LNG onto ocean-going vessels for delivery to export markets. The project still requires export authorization from Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB); it filed an export license application on Nov. 6 (see Daily GPI, Nov. 7).

Bear Head’s development schedule aligns with the projected ramp-up of gas production from U.S. supply basins, including the Appalachia Basin, according to CFO Ian Salmon. Bear Head LNG may also access gas from Eastern Canada, he said.

The facility, which was recently upsized (see Daily GPI, Nov. 3) is to have an initial production capacity of 8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) and be developed at a site on the Strait of Canso in Point Tupper, Richmond County, NS. The site was partially developed for LNG imports.

Perth, Australia-based Liquefied Natural Gas also is the parent of U.S.-based Magnolia LNG LLC, which is developing the Magnolia LNG Project, an 8 mtpa LNG export terminal, in Lake Charles, LA (see Daily GPI, March 7).