| Canaport | |
|---|---|
 | |
 Click on the map for a fullscreen view | |
| Location | |
| Country | Canada |
| Location | Saint John,New Brunswick |
| Coordinates | 45°12′41″N65°59′09″W / 45.211271°N 65.985952°W /45.211271; -65.985952 |
| Details | |
| Opened | 1970 (crude oil terminal), 2008 (LNG terminal) |
| Owned by | Irving Oil |
| Type ofharbour | deep-water crude oil receiving terminal liquified natural gas terminal |
| No. ofberths | 1 mono-buoy for crude oil supertankers 1 jetty for LNG tankers |
| Statistics | |
| Website Canaport (crude oil)http://irvingoil.com/operations_and_partners/operations/supply/ Canaport LNGhttp://www.canaportlng.com | |
Canaport is a Canadian marinecrude oilreceiving terminal located on the north shore of theBay of Fundy at Mispec Point, approximately 9 km (5.6 mi) southeast of the city ofSaint John,New Brunswick.
Commissioned in 1970, Canaport was the first deep-water crude terminal in the Western Hemisphere able to receivesupertankers. Canaport was built byIrving Oil, which has continuously owned and operated the facility throughout its existence. The terminal is currently configured exclusively as a crude receiving terminal in order to supply theIrving Oil Refinery, which was itself constructed in 1960.[1]
Canaport consists of the following infrastructure:
The terminal was originally designed to have 5 storage tanks measuring 200 ft (61 m) in diameter. The owner of Irving Oil,K.C. Irving modified the terminal's design to include 6 tanks so each tank could each have a single letter that when combined would spell I-R-V-I-N-G when viewed from the water.[2] Subsequent expansions of the refinery in the 1970s, 80s and 90s resulted in the construction of additional storage tanks.
The Canaport LNG terminal is aliquified natural gas (LNG) receiving and regasification terminal located adjacent and immediately east of the Canaport crude receiving terminal. Commissioned in 2008, it is Canada's first LNG terminal and the first LNG terminal built in eastern North America in 30 years. It is capable of receiving the largest LNG tankers in the world.[3]
Canaport LNG has a nominal capacity of handling 1,200,000,000 cu ft (34,000,000 m3) of LNG per day, enough to heat 5 million homes. Regasified LNG from the Canaport LNG terminal is capable of supplying 20% of the natural gas demand in the northeasternUnited States and Canada.[3]
In 2001 Irving Oil applied for a permit to addliquified natural gas (LNG) to its Canaport deep-water crude receiving terminal. The permit was granted in April 2004 and Irving Oil entered into a partnership withRepsol to develop Canaport LNG; Irving Oil owns 25% of Canaport LNG while Repsol owns 75%. Construction of the LNG terminal started in September 2005 and the facility was commissioned in 2008 and received its first shipment of LNG in June 2009.[3] Repsol acquired Irving's share in the LNG terminal in August 2021.[4]
Canaport LNG consists of the following infrastructure:
The construction of the Canaport LNG was coincident with construction of theBrunswick Pipeline which transports the natural gas from Canaport LNG to markets.
In 2021, Canaport LNG was re-named to Saint John LNG following the purchase of the Irving interest by the Repsol partner. Saint John LNG is now fully owned by Repsol subsidiaries.[6]
In 2005, Irving Oil received a controversial tax break from the City ofSaint John to develop the Canaport LNG terminal; it was apparently negotiated one-on-one with the city's then-mayorNorm McFarlane. The tax concessions have cost the City of Saint John approximately $75 million over ten years, with a potential total loss of over $180 million.[7][8] Saint John Common Council's reconsideration of this tax concession in 2015 resulted in warnings from Irving Oil, including editorials published in the Telegraph-Journal arguing against re-opening the deal.[9]
In September 2013, nearly 7,500 songbirds were killed when they flew into a gas flare at the plant. The incident was caused by a "combination of nocturnal flaring and unsettled [foggy] weather conditions during peak migration periods [which] created the potential for a significant bird mortality event." The owners were eventually fined $750,000 for the offence. Soon after the incident, the plant completed a $45 million upgrade which significantly reduced the amount of flaring which takes place at the plant.[10]
Irving Oil has announced plans to build a new $300-million terminal at Canaport to export the oil from the proposedEnergy East pipeline.[11]