Kitimat LNG partners, Encana Corporation, Apache Canada Ltd. and EOG Resources Canada Inc. announced in a statement released October 13 that the National Energy Board (NEB) has provided Kitimat LNG with a 20-year export license that allows it to export liquid natural gas (LNG) from Canada.

The license also permits Kitimat LNG to export as much as 10 million tons of LNG every year, The Globe and Mail reports. The NEB has not approved one of these LNG export licenses since the Canadian gas industry became deregulated in 1985.

"The board recognizes that forecast demand growth for LNG in the Asia Pacific region provides a new opportunity for Canadian producers to diversify their export markets," the NEB wrote when stating its decision, according to the media outlet. "The board also recognizes that long-term oil-indexed sales contracts could provide for higher netbacks to Canadian producers."

The Kitimat LNG project plans to export 1.2 billion cubic feet of natural gas to foreign markets by 2016, The Vancoucer Sun reports. Since Canada's natural gas production has dropped to 14.5 billion cubic feet per day, the project could jumpstart the oil industry in the country.