Dominion Resources has secured approval from the US Energy Department (DOE) to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Cove Point terminal in Maryland, US, to other countries, which do not have free trade agreement with the country.
The final authorization follows completion of an extensive careful review of the company’s applications.
The company has now been directed to export up to the equivalent of 0.77 billion standard cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of natural gas from the Cove Point LNG and export terminal for a period of 20 years.
After considering the economic, energy security, and environmental impacts, the DOE determined that the authorized exports were not inconsistent with the public interest.
The $3.8bn Cove Point LNG export project is expected to create construction jobs and an additional $40m in annual tax revenue to Calvert County.
The project aims to transport up to 860,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas from 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 tons of liquefied natural gas per year.
Meanwhile, Earthjustice-led environmentalists have filed a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) alleging that the LNG export authorization was made without considering rigorous environmental review and encouraged new hydraulic fracturing.
Earthjustice senior associate attorney Jocelyn D’Ambrosio said: "Exporting nearly 1 billion cubic feet of LNG per day means more gas drilling, which wreaks havoc on both the climate and the communities scarred by wells and pipelines."