Bear Head not shutting down: company spokesperson

POINT TUPPER, N.S. — SYDNEY, N.S. — A liquified natural gas plant and associated pipeline proposal is not shutting down, says a spokesperson for the parent company behind the projects. 
LNG Limited spokesperson Micah Hirschfield responded Friday to comments made by Inverness MLA Allan MacMaster. 
In the provincial legislature last week MacMaster questioned future of the Bear Head LNG terminal in Point Tupper, Richmond County.  
“I am concerned that they have lost interest in advancing the project,” said MacMaster.    
Earlier this month, SaltWire Network reported that sister companies Bear Head LNG and Bear Paw Pipeline had applied to extend deadlines for construction permits associated with the projects.
John Baguley, chief operating officer with Bear Head LNG, wrote in his application that the site has been “negatively affected by changes in global energy market conditions since the initial permit approval.”
Baguley said market condition changes include a substantial imbalance in the current LNG supply-demand situation, deferral of long-term purchase commitments by the market and instability in energy pricing including LNG.
“LNG Limited is committed and confident in our ability to deliver Bear Head LNG to the global energy market,” Hirschfield said Friday.
“We continue to progress the project, taking steps to maintain the advanced state of readiness, including the project site at Point Tupper on Cape Breton Island, our regulatory permits, and our regional interfaces including local communities, Indigenous peoples, regulators, politicians and commercial partners.”
Hirschfield said a recent decision was made to eliminate on-site consultants, which resulted in project management from industry experts at their Houston office. 
“We continue to aggressively pursue every opportunity to bring the Bear Head project to final investment decision,” Hirschfield said.
MacMaster, who could not be reached Friday, said millions of dollars have been invested in the construction of the LNG terminal at Bear Head.  
The site sits on prime property that once belonged to taxpayers, but has never been used.
“Part of the deal when this land was sold was that the project had to continue advancing or the provincial government could buy the land back,” said MacMaster in a press release. 
"When the UARB approved the construction permit they required Nova Scotia-based management capabilities. Both of these factors give government leverage to encourage this project to advance.”
MacMaster said he recognizes that governments are now starting to move away from carbon-based fuels, but said as long as they are being utilized, they might as well use gas passing through the Strait area terminal.   

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