Irving Oil sells its interest in Canaport LNG to Repsol

Irving Oil has announced the divestiture of its 25 per cent ownership interest in Canaport LNG to the existing majority owner, Repsol SA, a Spanish energy and petrochemical company based in Madrid.

The parties have been working together to finalize the sale of the liquefied natural gas receiving and regasification terminal in east Saint John for a "number of months," according to a news release.

"Irving Oil extends its best wishes to Repsol for success in the future," it said.

"Confidentiality provisions prohibit Irving Oil from commenting further at this time."

Courtney Jones, Canaport LNG's general manager and a Repsol director, did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday about what, if any, impact the deal will have on local operations or jobs.

Irving Oil corporate communications manager Candice MacLean also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Respsol officials in both Canada and Madrid did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the company's plans for the site.

LNG arrives by ship to Saint John in specially designed tankers and is offloaded by being pumped through pipes into storage tanks at the Canaport terminal.

The LNG is then restored to its original gaseous form through a process called regasification and distributed via the Brunswick Pipeline for use as fuel for markets in Canada and the U.S.

Canaport is able to supply 20 per cent of the natural gas needs of Canada and the northeast U.S., according to the company's website.

The facility can send out a maximum of 1.2 billion cubic feet, or 28 million cubic metres, of natural gas per day, which is enough to heat five million homes, it states.