NorthAmOil: Canada in talks on expediting East Coast LNG exports

The Canadian government is in talks with the developers of two proposed LNG export terminals on Canada’s East Coast to see whether it can help expedite those projects, it emerged last week.
Canadian Minister of Natural Resources Jonathan Wilkinson told Reuters that Ottawa was in discussions with Pieridae Energy and Repsol over terminals in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick respectively.
The discussions are being held with a view to boosting LNG supply to Europe as it scrambles to phase out its imports of Russian gas in the wake of the war in Ukraine. Indeed, Wilkinson said Ottawa was also talking to parties in Germany and elsewhere in Europe to bring would-be importers into the discussion.
This could represent a turnaround in fortunes for Pieridae, which shelved plans to develop its Goldboro LNG project in mid-2021, citing cost pressures and time constraints. The company had already started talking about reviving Goldboro earlier this year as LNG demand and prices rose, but had called on Ottawa to show a commitment to supporting the project. While the outcome of the talks with the Canadian government is not guaranteed, it does now look as though this commitment is closer to materialising than it had been previously.
Repsol, for its part, acquired 100% ownership of an LNG import facility in Saint John last year. The company has not publicly commented on its plans for Saint John LNG, but conversion to exports looks like an increasingly attractive option against the backdrop of current events.