Last week, the U.S. Department of Energy approved a permit application for Dominion Cove Point LNG to export liquefied natural gas (LNG) to non-Free Trade Agreement (non-FTA) countries. Under the permit, Dominion Resources can export up to .77 billion cubic feet of LNG daily from its Cove Point terminal in the Chesapeake Bay.
Dominion has secured 20-year contracts for its LNG customers in Japan and India. The company will invest up to $3.8 billion for its new LNG export facilities at Cove Point.
This is the fourth application the Obama Administration has approved and the third this year to ship LNG to non-FTA countries. The Department had previously approved applications for export to non-FTA countries by Sabine Pass Liquefaction, Freeport LNG, and Lake Charles Exports. Twenty additional applications for export of LNG to non-FTA countries are currently pending before the Department of Energy.
The Department had previously approved Dominion’s application to export up to 1 billion cubic feet per day of LNG to countries with which the United States has a Free Trade Agreement.