Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Resources Inc. has been authorized by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to export domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) to countries that do not have a free-trade agreement with the US.

Pending environmental review and final regulatory approval, Dominion will be able to export natural gas from its Cove Point terminal on the Chesapeake Bay in Lusby, Maryland, according to the company.

This is the fourth LNG-export project authorized by the DOE amid a natural gas glut.

Dominion said the project to modify the terminal is expected to cost between $3.4 billion and $3.8 billion. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2014, with an in-service date of 2017.

Shipments for Cove Point are under contract for 20 years with affiliates of Tokyo-based Sumitomo Corp. and Gail India Ltd., based in New Delhi, and each has contracted for half the marketed capacity, Dominion said.

In early August, the DOE authorized Lake Charles Exports LLC to export up to 2 billion cubic feet (Bcf) of natural gas per day from its terminal in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Three months earlier, the Energy Department gave a green light to Freeport LNG's Quintana Island, Texas, terminal to broadly sell up to 1.4 Bcf per day of US natural gas overseas.

In May 2011, Sabine Pass LNG became the first company to garner federal approval to export LNG from its Cameron Parish, Louisiana, terminal at a rate of up to 2.2 Bcf per day.

The three projects combined are allowed to ship out 5.6 Bcf per day of natural gas to Japan and other countries that aren't FTA partners with the US.

Significant changes in the global gas market in the past decade—the emergence of shale in North America, in particular—have dramatically altered the global outlook for LNG markets and fueled the commercial aspirations of firms seeking to seize the apparent profit opportunity offered by exports.

“The development of US natural gas resources is having a trans-formative impact on the US energy landscape, helping to improve our energy security while spurring economic development and job creation around the country,” according to the DOE. This increase in domestic natural gas production is expected to continue, with the US Energy Information Administration forecasting a record production rate of 69.3 Bcf per day in 2013.

According to the latest DOE summary of LNG applications, 21 non-FTA requests—totaling 32.41 Bcf per day—are still pending. A month earlier, the agency was in the process of reviewing 19 non-FTA applications totaling 29.21 Bcf per day.

—Kristi Sotolongo