A European sales contract deadline for a firm construction commitment by the proposed first Canadian east coast natural gas export terminal, Goldboro LNG, has been postponed until the end of September 2020.

The new deal with German energy trader Uniper Global Commodities SE also gives project owner Pieridae Energy Ltd. until the end of June 2020 to secure Alberta supplies for the liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and pipeline service to the Nova Scotia terminal site.

Pieridae CEO Alfred Sorenson said the extensions “allow us to complete the work needed to make a final investment decision.”

The project missed previously announced decision targets of year-end 2018 and mid-2019. The unfinished work includes a design and cost review by prospective construction contractor Kellogg, Brown & Root Ltd., said Sorenson.

Pieridae is also working on raising C$190 million ($142 million) in loans and share sales for a southern Alberta asset purchase from Royal Dutch Shell plc announced in late June. The acquisition would about double Pieridae gas production to 221 MMcf/d or 28% of 800 MMcf/d required by the first stage of Goldboro LNG.

Shell, which is advancing LNG Canada with its partners on the west coast in British Columbia, said the supply deal with Pieridae reflected “increasingly prioritized investment in growing integrated gas and shales businesses. The recent decision to invest in the multibillion-dollar LNG Canada project, Shell share 40%, is part of this strategy.”

The second Canadian east coast LNG export project, Bear Head LNG Corp., earlier this year secured project participation and benefits agreements with Nova Scotia native and labor groups. The subsidiary of Australia-based Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd., which also owns the Magnolia LNG project in Lake Charles, LA, has set no construction date for the estimated C$5 billion ($3.8 billion) Nova Scotia project.