Cove Point Liquefaction Project Approved

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has authorized Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP to build the Cove Point Liquefaction Project in Calvert County, Maryland, and related facilities at an existing compressor station and at metering and regulating sites in Virginia.

The approval came after more than two years of consideration of Dominion’s proposal during which FERC heard from more than 140 speakers at three public meetings related to the Environmental Assessment, and received more than 650 comments from the public and federal, state and local agencies on the application.

The project will enable Dominion to transport up to 860,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas form existing pipeline interconnects near the west end of the Cove Point Pipeline, to the Cove Point terminal, for the export of up to 5.75 metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year. The Commission decided that the proposal is in the public interest.

Dominion Cove Point proposes to complete construction of the Liquefaction Project so that facilities may start service in June 2017. Construction of the related Virginia facilities would begin in 2016 and would be placed in service by March 2017.

The U.S. Department of Energy has approved Dominion Cove Point’s export of gas to both Free Trade Agreement and non-Free Trade Agreement countries.

FERC has approved three other LNG export projects, all in the Gulf of Mexico: the Sabine Pass Liquefaction Project, the Freeport LNG Project, and the Cameron LNG Project. Fourteen LNG export proposals are pending.