Delegates await the start of the LNG2023 conference in Vancouver on July 10.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Enbridge Inc. ENB-T is lining up support for its natural gas pipeline project in northern British Columbia as it works on ensuring compliance with environmental regulations, the company’s chief executive officer said at an industry conference where hopes for the future of Canadian exports ran high.
The project, known as the Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission route, would run from northeast B.C. to a location near the site of Ksi Lisims LNG, one of several liquefied natural-gas export terminals now in planning stages on the West Coast.
“I think it’s just making sure that we’ve got all our ducks lined up, and that we’ve got all the appropriate consultations done, and that we can ensure success,” Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel said in an interview at last week’s international LNG2023 conference, which was held at the Vancouver Convention Centre.
Canada currently has no operational LNG export terminals, and it has only one of them – LNG Canada, in Kitimat, B.C. – under construction. These terminals, and the pipelines that supply them, would enable Canadian LNG to be loaded onto ocean-bound tankers and shipped to an international energy market in search of reliable suppliers after a recent period of war- and pandemic-related disruption.
But as Mr. Ebel and other leaders at the conference enthused over the industry’s potential, protesters gathered outside the venue to express opposition to increased fossil-fuel exports, which they say would run counter to Canada’s climate goals.
Ksi Lisims, which is backed by the Nisga’a Nation, Western LNG and a group of natural-gas producers called Rockies LNG, is seeking regulatory approval to obtain an environmental assessment certificate. It has not yet selected a pipeline developer. Westcoast Connector is one of two possibilities.
The other possibility is TC Energy Corp.’s TRP-T proposed Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) project. Portions of the proposed routes for Westcoast Connector and PRGT would cross the Gitxsan Nation’s unceded traditional territory.
Westcoast Connector initially received its environmental assessment certificate in 2014, and won approval for a five-year extension in 2019, giving it until Nov. 25, 2024 to “substantially start” pipeline construction.
“There are always twists and turns in this,” said Mr. Ebel, who took over the role of Enbridge CEO from the retiring Al Monaco at the beginning of 2023.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith gives a keynote address at the LNG2023 conference in Vancouver on July 13.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Calgary-based Enbridge applied for yet another extension in December, but decided in May to delay its request until it could take more time to hold consultations with Indigenous groups and commercial partners.
“There’s no need to be asking for approvals or extensions until you’re absolutely aligned with all your supporters,” Mr. Ebel said.
Last week, B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) approved an application from Enbridge to reduce the proposed length of Westcoast Connector by 138 kilometres. The Blueberry River First Nations, in northeast B.C., had raised environmental concerns about the project. The EAO said in its ruling that the reduction would have “a positive effect” on them and other First Nations in Treaty 8 territory.
Depending on the final design, the revised route would stretch about 700 kilometres across northern B.C.
Aside from Ksi Lisims and LNG Canada, three other proponents of exports using tankers remain active in B.C.: Cedar LNG, in Kitimat; Woodfibre LNG, in Squamish, B.C.; and FortisBC, which is planning to expand its domestic Tilbury LNG facility in Delta, B.C.
Enbridge owns 30 per cent of Woodfibre, while Pacific Energy Corp. Ltd. controls the remaining 70 per cent.
“The opportunities for exporting LNG off the West Coast are just immense,” Lisa Baiton, president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said in an interview during the conference.
Conference attendees pass the LNG Canada booth during LNG2023 in Vancouver on July 11.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith, who was a keynote speaker at the conference, said LNG exports from Canada are positioned to contribute to global supplies after the disruption that followed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Many countries are looking for geopolitical stability, and we can offer that in spades,” she said.
Ms. Smith added that Canada’s other opportunities include increasing exports of Canadian natural gas to the U.S. Gulf Coast’s LNG export terminals.
But Frack Free BC, a group that includes climate activist organizations such as Dogwood, has said the focus should be on renewable energy, not on fossil fuels. “There’s no room for new LNG if the world meets its climate commitments,” Alexandra Woodsworth, Dogwood’s director of organizing, said in a statement.
Supporters of Dogwood, the Wilderness Committee and Stand.earth were among those who staged a protest outside the LNG2023 conference.
Also present at the conference was former B.C. premier Christy Clark, who is now a senior adviser at law firm Bennett Jones LLP. In an interview, she spoke about the potential of B.C.’s massive natural-gas reserves.
“The big opportunity is here, because our reserves are proven and accessible,” she said.
“I have always thought that the LNG opportunity for us was looking to the West, rather than to the East, for Canada.”
Pieridae Energy Ltd.’s Goldboro LNG and Repsol SA’s Saint John LNG have both in the past five months abandoned ambitious plans to build LNG export terminals on the country’s Atlantic coast.
Delegates view a model of a floating LNG facility vessel displayed at the booth of Japan's JGC Group during LNG2023 on July 11.DARRYL DYCK/The Canadian Press
Tengku Muhammad Taufik, the CEO of Malaysia-based Petronas – which co-owns LNG Canada in partnership with London-based Shell PLC RYDAF, PetroChina PCCYF, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corp. and South Korea’s Kogas – also said he sees Canadian LNG filling an important global need.
“I think the unlocking of Canada’s gas resources would be immensely helpful for the world,” he told a panel discussion at the conference.
The LNG conference, which is normally held once every three years, was originally supposed to take place in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 2022. But after Russia invaded Ukraine the conference was delayed by more than a year, and the venue was changed to Vancouver.