Canada’s Pieridae Energy moves forward after review
Canada’s Pieridae Energy said January 24 a strategic review of its status found no “compelling” alternative, and it will move forward under its current structure.
The strategic review process was launched last summer by a special committee of the board, advised by Peters & Co. The committee was mandated to identify, examine and consider a range of strategic alternatives aimed at enhancing shareholder value, including a corporate sale, a “material sale” of assets or any other transaction.
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Ultimately, the committee concluded that the various alternatives it examined were “not compelling” relative to the company’s stand-alone prospects, Pieridae said.
“We are now in a position to proactively move the company forward and will work to enhance shareholder value, having reached an agreement with our senior secured lender to both consolidate our debt and amend certain terms and covenants of our credit agreement,” CEO Alfred Sorensen said.
With the review behind it, Pieridae will continue to pursue the development of a smaller, floating liquefaction project in Nova Scotia, where it had originally been contemplating its shore-based 10mn metric tons/year Goldboro LNG facility.
A two-train, 2.8mn mt/yr floating LNG terminal incorporating electric drive compressors, it says, would generate a tenth of the greenhouse gas emissions of its original concept, require only about 400mn ft3/day of feed gas and eliminate the need to re-align nearby highways.
“The idea of getting Canadian gas to Europe is looking even better right now due to the political unrest between Russia and the Ukraine, high prices for the foreseeable future and security of supply issues dogging Europe,” a Pieridae spokesman told NGW. “Stable Canadian natural gas can offer a longer-term solution to help solve these issues.”
Although an off-take agreement with German utility Uniper remains in place, he said, further refinement of the floating concept is needed before further discussions on off-take can continue. More work is also needed before Pieridae can determine whether it needs to revisit any of the shore-based project’s permits and regulatory approvals.