Canadian Pieridae, German Uniper Extend Deadlines

Canada’s Pieridae Energy, which is developing the 10mn mt/yr Goldboro LNG project in Nova Scotia, and German Uniper, which has agreed to take virtually the entire output of the facility’s first 5mn mt/yr train, have agreed to extensions of key deadlines in their 20-year agreement, Pieridae said May 5.

Commercial deliveries are now expected to start between August 31, 2025 and February 28, 2026; the deadline to make a final investment decision (FID) on the project has been pushed back nine months, to June 30, 2021.

“We recently expressed confidence we would sign key deadline extensions with Uniper related to FID for our Goldboro LNG facility and Pieridae is pleased to announce those extensions today,” Pieridae CEO Alfred Sorensen said. “Our relationship with Uniper remains strong and we very much appreciate their on-going support.”

Pieridae is continuing to work with KBR to deliver a fixed-price contract to build the estimated C$10bn (US$7.1bn) liquefaction terminal, ahead of awarding an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract.

In the meantime, it has begun to award contracts for services outside the EPC sphere, with the intention to begin site preparation as soon as possible. Some of these activities include building the terminal’s wharf and jetty, road construction and workforce accommodations.

“Over the last several weeks we have seen projects in Australia, Africa and the Gulf Coast either cancelled or delayed indefinitely due to the challenging energy market,” Sorensen said. “We believe this is an opportunity for Canada to enter into this industry at a time when others are exiting. Our Goldboro LNG project is fundamentally sound‎ and with fewer competing projects, now is the time to proceed.”

Oz LNG Limited entered voluntary administration May 4, putting in jeopardy its own Nova Scotia LNG project, the 8-10mn mt/yr Bear Head LNG project, and the companion 10mn mt/yr Magnolia LNG project in Louisiana. 

Uniper became a subsidiary of Finnish state Fortum at the end March. Under German corporate law it will have a separate profit and loss account until the end of 2021 at least, that being the earliest that Fortum has said it would exercise its right to buy the rest of the shares.