Irving Oil has received final federal and provincial approval for its planned LNG facility in Saint John, New Brunswick. The approvals were issued by the New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government, Environment Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, in accordance with provincial Environmental Assessment Regulations and the federal Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.
The facility will be located at the company’s existing deepwater marine terminal, Irving Canaport.
In a related development, a proposed LNG facility by Access Northeast Energy (ANE) at Bear Head, Point Tupper on Cape Breton Island, along the Strait of Canso in Nova Scotia, has received approval of its environmental assessment.
A statement issued by Anadarko Petroleum Corp. ANE’s parent company, indicated that the remaining permits and approvals would be acquired by year-end and that operation would begin in 2007.
Irving’s plans for Saint John call for three 160,000 cubic meter LNG tanks and a throughput capacity of one billion cubic feet of natural gas per day. Irving Canaport is situated 65 miles from the U.S. border.
The next step will be detailed engineering, followed by construction, starting as early as spring 2005, according to Jennifer Parker, Irving spokesperson. She added, “We haven’t determined yet how much will be supplied to the Atlantic Canada and New England markets.”
Company official Kenneth Irving said. “After a thorough, three-year permitting process that assessed the project’s environmental impact and benefits and included extensive consultation with stakeholders and government, the company is pleased that the government of New Brunswick and the federal government have given their approval to this project. Irving Oil anticipates the LNG receiving terminal to be operational in 2007.”