Australian energy firm Liquefied Natural Gas Ltd (LNGL) has raised $38.6 million in capital to purchase and fund the Bear Head natural gas terminal site in Richmond County, N.S.  

The Nova Scotia government announced the acquisition on July 28. The site was purchased for $11 million.  The remaining $27 million will fund the project until further notice.

LNGL’s Managing Director Maurice Brand says he has high hopes about positive impacts to the Port Hawkesbury region and to the rest of the province. 

Brand says, “Bear Head has considerable unlocked value and sunk costs that can readily be transformed into an LNG export facility…We are anticipating the creation of 45 to 70 permanent direct jobs and 600 to 700 construction jobs.”

The company’s plan is to expand if the supply of gas grows.  LNGL plans to build two 180,000 cubic meter gas supply tanks. 

Nova Scotia Energy Minister Andrew Younger says, “[The project] is a great step toward making Nova Scotia an LNG export destination and represents a tremendous opportunity for rural economic development.”

Over the next year, LNGL will perform environmental and engineering studies of the site.