Pieridae Energy Ltd. announced Friday that it will review alternatives for its Goldboro liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Nova Scotia, as the chief executive officer says COVID-19 has made the company’s current plan impractical.
The Calgary-based company said it was not able to meet all of the key conditions necessary to make a final investment decision, citing the pandemic’s impact on energy product demand and construction timelines.
“Following consultation with our board, we have made the decision to move Goldboro LNG in a new direction,” said Alfred Sorensen, Pieridae Energy’s chief executive, in a release.
“The project’s fundamentals remain strong: robust LNG demand from Europe and high global LNG prices, Indigenous participation, a net-zero emissions pathway forward, and support from jurisdictions across Canada.”
The Goldboro terminal, first proposed more than a decade ago, would see natural gas get shipped from Alberta to Nova Scotia, where it would then be liquefied and shipped to buyers in Europe, South American and Asia. The proposed site, 250 kilometers from Halifax, includes two liquefaction facilities which, once up and running, could each produce up to 4.8 million tonnes per year.
Pieridae has angled it as a COVID recovery project that could bring thousands of jobs to the Atlantic province. At this time, it’s unclear what alternatives the company is exploring.
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