Dominion has applied to the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to begin the early environmental review process for proposed liquefied natural gas exports from its Cove Point terminal in Maryland, according to documents released Friday.
"The Cove Point LNG terminal is well positioned to provide ... export customers with access to abundant and diverse domestic gas supply," the company said in its pre-filing application.
Pre-filing allows for early input from stakeholders regarding the possible environmental impacts of a project. It is designed to facilitate the formal review process under the National Environmental Policy Act.
A growing number of companies are seeking to export US gas to higher-priced markets in Europe and Asia. As of May 31, a total of 14 companies had applied to export 18.7 Bcf/d of US gas as LNG.
The Department of Energy has already approved Cove Point's application to export 1 Bcf/d of LNG to free trade agreement countries. Its application to ship LNG to non-FTA countries is still pending at DOE.
Cove Point must also win approval from FERC to build the liquefaction and other facilities necessary for exports. The company plans to file this application no less than 180 days after beginning the pre-filing process with FERC.
It expects to request FERC approval by February 2014, so that it can start operations in March 2017.
