The backers of two separate liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminals in Nova Scotia have received approvals for their facilities to source gas from the United States in order to be liquefied at their respective facilities and exported to non-free trade agreement (FTA) countries.

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approval for Bear Head LNG Corp. and Bear Head LNG (USA) LLC is in addition to its prior approval for exports to FTA countries. Separately, Pieridae Energy (Canada) Ltd. has also received non-FTA export authorization from DOE, from which it previously received FTA approval for its Goldboro LNG project in Nova Scotia.

Pieridae’s FTA and non-FTA authorizations, combined with National Energy Board (NEB) of Canada permits to import U.S.-sourced natural gas to Canada and export natural gas as LNG from Canada, will allow Goldboro LNG to serve substantially all global LNG markets, the company said. It will also allow Pieridae to more efficiently manage gas supply feedstock for LNG deliveries to Western and Southern Europe, where its primary customer, Uniper Global Commodities S.E. (formerly E.ON Global Commodities S.E.), has its base of operations.

The Bear Head project is on Nova Scotia’s Strait of Canso, near Port Hawkesbury on a site permitted and partially developed a decade ago. The company said it is negotiating for gas supplies from Western and Central Canada, offshore Nova Scotia and the United States.

DOE has also determined that Bear Head does not require its authorization for Canadian natural gas to pass through U.S. pipelines (in transit) on its way to the export company’s facility in Nova Scotia. Project Director John Godbold said this enhances Bear Head’s commercial gas supply options by allowing a portion of supply requirements to come from Western and Central Canada, largely using existing pipeline facilities.

Bear Head also holds NEB authorization to export up to 12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG, the natural gas equivalent of 1.8 Bcf/d. The company has also received all 10 initial Canadian federal, provincial and local regulatory approvals needed to begin construction.

The two separate projects received NEB approvals last summer (see Daily GPI, Aug. 17, 2015).

Bear Head is a unit of Australia-based Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd., which is also parent of U.S.-based Magnolia LNG, the developer of an LNG export terminal at the Port of Lake Charles in Louisiana (see Daily GPI, Nov. 16, 2015).