Should New Brunswick Re-Open The Door On Natural Gas?
SAINT JOHN — Premier Blaine Higgs said he wants natural gas to start being developed in New Brunswick and tied it to the recent licence extension won by Saint John LNG. He made the statement during his February 9 state of the province address.
The facility was granted approval to extend the start date of its natural gas export licence, from 10 to 14 years. The company now has until 2032 to begin exports of LNG.
“We have exceptional natural gas resources right here in our province that, if developed responsibly, in partnership with First Nations, could displace coal, displace oil, and lower emissions across Atlantic Canada,” Higgs said.
“But we will need to move quickly.”
In a January 24 letter from the Canada Energy Regulator, Saint John LNG was given an extension on the start date of its licence. It allows for exports to continue 25 years after the date of its first export, potentially until 2057.
“We are pleased with the decision from the Canadian Energy Regulator regarding the extension of the expiry dates of our import and export licenses,” said Saint John LNG spokesperson Michael Blackier in a statement to Huddle.
“While this was an important requirement in the decision-making process, we are continuing to examine the entire value chain of the project. Given the capital requirements, permitting, and regulatory approvals required to deliver natural gas to Saint John LNG and to add liquefaction capabilities to our terminal, there are many factors that are being considered.”
In his speech, Higgs seemed confident the calculation would work out in favour of moving forward with Saint John LNG’s potential.
On a slide entitled ‘Major Energy Driven Projects Under Consideration’ presented during his speech to a packed house at the Fredericton Convention Centre, Higgs listed both the LNG facility and natural gas production as possibilities.
He claimed the expansion of the Saint John LNG terminal to include liquification would be a $2.5 to 4 billion project that would create as many as 100 full-time jobs, while natural gas development would necessitate a capital expenditure of $4.5 billion and create 1,000 full-time jobs.
Higgs said the proposed projects would enhance “our own energy security and generation of transition fuels at a time when they are desperately needed.” Particularly in Europe.
Citing the energy proposals, which included ongoing small modular reactor projects, green ammonia and hydrogen plants, and wind farms as “a game changer for New Brunswick”, Higgs went on to appeal to First Nations in the province, who have opposed fracking proposals in the past.
He characterized his hopes for the relationship as “a new kind of economic partnership with First Nations and hopefully the first of many, as we strive to build development opportunities together, nation to nation.”
“I think the political conditions are definitely a factor, which is why we’ve seen …the latest push come associated with the war in Ukraine and the legitimate desire to not be purchasing gas from Russia, by various European democracies,” says the New Brunswick Conservation Council’s Fundy baykeeper, Matthew Abbott.
“In our view, that’s just taking the latest opportunity, the latest rationale.”
“Any gas that would be exported from that facility would not be meeting the short-term needs in Europe. As a whole, we need to be transitioning away from fossil fuels…We just can’t responsibly be building any more fossil fuel infrastructure,” he says.
Abbott says governments and regulators on all levels need to start working in unison when it comes to prioritizing action on climate change.
“It’s disappointing that we wouldn’t have a sort of more systematic view coming from our government regulators, actually looking at Canada’s climate change commitments, thinking about the health of our national and international environments,” he says. “You can cause a lot of damage going case by case and allowing things that don’t look so bad on their own.”
When it comes to exporting gas from New Brunswick, Abbott is perplexed as to why it’s even being considered.
“We had really inspiring, impressive, widespread campaign on shale gas with a lot of public support. It was the deciding factor in an election, I would argue,” he says.
“It should be treated as a settled question. And so it’s concerning to me that [the war] would be used as a way to try and reopen that door.”
In addition to supporting renewables for the long-term sustainability of the province’s ecosystems, Abbott has particular concerns about exporting natural gas from a facility in the Bay of Fundy.
“Tanker traffic causes a whole host of stresses and threats for marine animals, chief among them whales,” he says.
“Whales are at risk of collisions from large vessels and large whales communicate and hear at the same frequency as the noise the vessels make.”
“There’s risks to human health to air pollution, but there’s also risk to the water … these are ecosystems that are facing a great deal of stress. The Bay of Fundy, which is ecologically part of the Gulf of Maine, is among one of the fastest warming water bodies in the world. It’s already facing the impacts of climate change in a big way.”
Ironic, given that the big push behind the energy projects Higgs proposed is to create an energy transition to sources that have less of an impact on climate.
“All the people that want to buy electric cars, the energy consumption is going to go up. So who’s going to supply it? Where is it going to come from? Where are the minerals going to come from for batteries? We’re well-positioned to be part of that solution as well, but, we have to think bigger,” Higgs said.
“When you add it all together we have a phenomenal opportunity to grow our economy help our allies protect the planet and ensure energy security if we are bold enough to embrace the vision of energy innovation.”
Alex Graham is a Huddle reporter in Saint John. Send her your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].