Canada is a potentially significant rival to future Australian export expansions, given so many of its resources are owned by the same companies warehousing gas in Australian waters, and both nations are seeking to fill a gap in the market that is expected to open up in the 2020s.

Both have significant undeveloped resources, but while Australia is a known quantity, albeit one with a reputation for high costs, Canada has yet to develop a single greenfields site for its vast gas deposits, and developers have faced stiff opposition from environmentalists and indigenous groups.

One company straddling both Canada and Australia is junior Liquefied Natural Gas Limited, which has just moved its Bear Head project in Canada ahead on two fronts as founder Maurice Brand battles to become the first Canadian gas exporter.

Yesterday the company secured additional land around the Bear Head area that will allow the proposed project to expand to 12 million tonnes per annum, just 3MMtpa smaller than Australia’s $US55 billion Gorgon LNG plant.

The company said it has purchased additional land from Nova Scotia Business Inc to support its planned expansion.

“The acquisition of additional land is very important for our project. It enables us to increase the capacity of the LNG facility from a nominal 8MMtpa up to 12MMtpa in 2024, as per our approval from the National Energy Board,” Brand said.

“Over the past couple of years, Bear Head LNG has made significant progress on the project by obtaining regulatory certainty.

“This agreement between Bear Head LNG and NSBI is important for future development and planning, thus facilitating economic growth and job creation in the Strait region.”

Under the agreement reached with NSBI, Bear Head LNG will acquire an additional 72 acres of land directly adjacent to its existing 255 acre site.

Bear Head has approval to export US gas anywhere in the world, and it has all the initial federal, provincial, and municipal regulatory approvals required to begin project construction – it just needs funding and gas contracts.

The company has also registered its environmental assessment with Nova Scotia Environment for the 62.5km Bear Paw pipeline, which will run from Goldboro to the proposed export facility in Point Tupper, connecting the plant with the North American natural gas pipeline network – a critical slice of infrastructure for the project.

The EA will be open for public comment until April 29, with public hearings to be held in May.

LNGL has repeatedly said that FID is achievable this year, and the company is working hard to find a pipeline operator in the US for capacity to import that natural gas into Nova Scotia and for subsequent export to markets around the world.

It also still needs offtake agreements.

LNGL is also seeking to develop the Magnolia LNG project in Louisiana and the Fisherman’s Landing LNG project in Queensland, but the Australian project has stalled due to a lack of gas and the US project has been delayed six months.

Also yesterday, ExxonMobil submitted an application to extend the permit of its WCC LNG proposal in British Columbia to 40 years from 25 years.

Together with Imperial Oil it aims to ship 15-30MMtpa from a site at either Kitimat or Prince Rupert on the west coast.

The oiler has also told the National Energy Board it “entered into confidentiality agreements with several pipeline companies relating to services for delivery of gas to the LNG terminal."

The group has also “entered into confidentiality agreements with several pipeline companies relating to services for delivery of gas to the LNG terminal,” ExxonMobil said in a letter to the National Energy Board.

The dream of LNG remains alive in Canada, with the Conference Board of Canada found last month that just three LNG plants could inject some $7.4 billion into the Canadian economy over a 30-year period, producing 30MMtpa.

The study predicts 65,000 jobs nationally on average, of which 46,800 would be in British Colombia in the nation’s west, while LNG exports to Asia would swell government tax coffers.

The study was funded by Petronas, which recently failed to achieve a critical approval from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency for its $35 billion Pacific North West LNG project.

The issue is now with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The thinktank forecasts that two major LNG terminals and one smaller facility could start production between 2021 and 2015.

“What is certain, however, is that in recent years, Canada’s net natural gas export volume to the United States has declined and the North American market remains constrained on demand,” the report found.

But the chances of any Canadian export project going ahead have dimmed.

Shell has delayed its final investment decision on its LNG Canada joint venture at Kitimat until late 2016 and AltaGas and its partners have also shelved their Douglas Channel LNG project after falling short of its goal for long-term contracts with Asian buyers.

While the wheels have come off in British Colombia, LNGL and Pieridae Energy are still targeting FID this year for their east coast developments.

Pieridae says it believes it can make a positive FID in the third quarter for the $5-10 billion Goldboro LNG plant now it has a sales contract with Germany-based E.ON for 50% of its gas. It is planning to export 5-10MMtpa.

There are two other export projects considered for Nova Scotia.

LNG Nova Scotia Inc’s small 250,000tpa plant is aiming to replace diesel in Caribbean markets, while a fourth project, by Mumbai-based Hiranandani Group is proposing a 13.5MMtpa capacity terminal on the Strait of Canso.

However, the latter does not have export permits for either Canadian or US natural gas, nor environmental approvals, supply or offtake agreements.