LNG tankers are used to carry natural gas to markets overseas.

LNG Canada: Toward a successful FID

The go-ahead for a major LNG project on Canada’s West Coast is a bold step to put Canada on the global LNG map.

In October 2018, LNG Canada’s joint venture participants — Shell Canada, PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corporation and KOGAS — made a FID to proceed with Phase One of the project, which consists of two LNG trains each producing approximately seven million tonnes per year (MTPA). With this milestone we have turned a corner in the history of B.C. and Canada, as we aspire to be the project that the world will look to for proof that projects of this magnitude can be delivered safely, on time and on budget.

Susannah Pierce, external relations director of LNG Canada.

It took a diverse and knowledgeable team to deliver our vision and insights concerning LNG construction and operations, pipelines, environment and First Nations engagement — all with the shared goal of delivering a competitive project that puts Canada on the global LNG map for the first time.

There are many stakeholders with varied interests to manage. At LNG Canada, we often say that we built relationships before we built the project, and we feel this approach was a key part of reaching our FID [final investment decision]. We worked to identify and assess societal interests and integrate them at the most senior levels of the project; we established an early, available and responsive presence in the community that allowed us to adapt to an ever-changing context throughout the development of the project; and we understood the importance of sharing value with the broader community.

LNG Canada and our partners’ ‘hire local first’ approach will seek to fill more than 10,000 construction and operational jobs across the lifespan of the project, while contracting services and purchasing goods from local companies where possible.

LNG Canada is an energy development project that co-exists with the natural environment. For example, to protect and enhance marine resources, we are working closely with First Nations, as well as other agencies such as the Vancouver Aquarium, to make strategic investments with the goal of making coastal waters safer and more habitable. As CEO Andy Calitz said, “This decision shows that B.C. and Canada, working with First Nations and local communities, can deliver competitive energy projects. Industrial development can co-exist with environmental stewardship and Indigenous interests.”

Natural gas from B.C.’s abundant reserves will be transported to our facility via the 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline. And Kitimat, with its deep protected harbour, was a natural choice for an LNG terminal and provides competitiveness because of the shorter sailing distance to Asian markets — seven to 10 days compared to about 24 days via the Panama Canal from the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Understanding the global nature of climate change and the role of natural gas in energy transition was also fundamental. As a global LNG supply gap opens in the next decade, this project will provide a reliable and cost-competitive supply of LNG for global portfolios.

LNG Canada is proud to be taking this bold step toward Canada’s successful energy future.

Susannah Pierce is the External Relations Director of LNG Canada. In this role, Susannah is responsible for leading government relations, social performance, communications and First Nations functions for the LNG Canada project.