LNG Canada Partners Prepare Massive $30 Billion Expansion to Double Export Capacity

LNG Canada’s joint-venture partners are poised to approve or announce a second phase for the Kitimat, British Columbia, facility, which would add about 14 million tonnes of annual LNG capacity and roughly double output. Reports put the expanded plant’s total capacity at either 28 million or as much as 30 million tonnes a year, with investment estimated at more than $30 billion. The project is backed by Shell, PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and Korea Gas Corp., and is expected to strengthen Canada’s position as an LNG supplier, particularly to Asian markets, as energy companies seek diversified sources of supply. The reports describe the expansion as a major investment in Canada’s resource sector, though the partners’ final decision depends on their respective approval processes.
Five B.C. First Nations—the Gitga’at, Gitxaała, Haisla, Kitselas and Kitsumkalum—were offered an option to invest up to $1 billion for majority ownership of storage-tank infrastructure tied to Phase 2, which would be leased back to the project.
The expansion is moving forward unusually soon after Phase 1 began exporting: its first cargo left in 2025, only about a year before the reported Phase 2 decision.
The planned Vancouver announcement is unfolding amid a B.C. election and Parliament’s return for a session focused on major projects, a context in which governments may frame the expansion as confidence in Canada’s resource sector and regulatory climate.
Phase 2 is planned to add two processing trains, according to reporting on the proposed design.
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