Canada's First Two LNG Export Terminal Projects Get Big Boosts

Abstract

August 3, 2022 Scott Van Voorhis KEYWORDS Canada energy construction / Enbridge / energy / Liquified Natural Gas / TC Energy Order Reprints No Comments Surging global demand for natural gas has given a boost to a pair of giant LNG export projects in British Columbia. Preconstruction activity is now set to move forward on the planned $4-billion Woodfibre LNG project after an agreement by Calgary-based pipeline firm Enbridge Inc. to purchase a 30% ownership stake in the complex, with its Singapore-based developer Pacific Energy Corp. holding the remainder. The project would be Canada's second LNG terminal. TC Energy said late last month it has agreed to move forward with its Coastal Gaslink pipeline project, which will connect to a multibillion-dollar terminal under construction on the B.C. coast at Kitimat, after settling a long-running dispute with terminal developer LNG Canada. The project's cost is now estimated at $8.72 billion, or a 70% increase over its original $5.1-billion price tag, with TC Energy citing weather issues, the pandemic and unspecified design changes for the cost hike. Demand is expected to grow 50% by the end of the decade, reaching 75 billion cu ft per day, TC Energy CEO Francois Poirier said on an earnings call. With the pipeline issue resolved, LNG Canada now estimates the first shipment of natural gas will occur from the Kitimat terminal by the middle of the decade, a spokesperson stated in an email, although the firm has said it hopes to complete line construction at the end of 2023 and start testing the following year.