[ View article in PDF format (size : 324 kb) ]
Casting A Cold Eye on LNG:
The Real Possibilities and Pitfalls for Atlantic Canada
By Angela Tu Weissenberger
Atlantic Canada has a narrow window of opportunity to be a “first mover” in the North American market for liquefied natural gas (LNG). The region has several competitive advantages, including the accessibility of its ports and transportation access to the high-priced US northeast markets. Three proposed LNG projects in Atlantic Canada, representing more than $5 billion of direct investment, are located in industrial areas where local support is strong. Two projects — the Irving Oil/Repsol terminal at Canaport, in Saint John, New Brunswick, and Anadarko’s terminal at Bear Head, Nova Scotia — are among the few in North America to receive major environmental and regulatory permits and begin construction. Both are expected to be in service by 2008. A third project, Keltic Petrochemical’s proposed integrated petrochemical plant and LNG terminal at Goldboro, Nova Scotia, is currently undergoing environmental assessment, for a planned in-service date in 2009.
Despite Atlantic Canada’s locational advantage, a number of market issues need to be addressed
before any of the region’s LNG projects can be successful — for example, whether long-term supply
contracts can be lined up, whether the market can absorb incremental volumes from more than one
project at the same time, and how Maritimes and Northeast, the only pipeline structure in Atlantic
Canada to move natural gas to markets, can be expanded optimally to accommodate the successful
projects while achieving the lowest tolls.
Angela Tu Weissenberger
The AIMS Oil and Gas Papers (Paper #4)
Reprinted with the permission of AIMS
(added 20 March 2006)
