Progress so far on the $40-billion LNG Canada project has been “impressive,” the joint venture said this week as it marked one year since the terminal got the green light to proceed.
Construction activities commenced the day after Shell, PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and KOGAS announced their final investment decision, the companies said.
Prime contractor JGC Fluor mobilized to the site in November 2018, and was officially handed the reigns in April 2019.
JGC Fluor has awarded more than 35 contracts so far, with 18 more pending between now and July 2020, according to the project’s website.
LNG Canada says that as of June 2019, the project had awarded over $1 billion in contracts and procurement opportunities to companies in British Columbia, including over $558M to local area and First Nations companies.
Current active construction includes work to support LNG Canada’s land exchange with Rio Tinto. The joint venture agreed to build Rio Tinto a new wharf in exchange for the LNG Canada site, a former Eurocan wharf owned by Rio Tinto.
LNG Canada is currently dredging in Kitimat Harbour to get the existing port ready for larger vessels and piling at the site for Rio Tinto’s new wharf. The former Eurocan site is undergoing clearing and preparation, topsoil work and demolishing of structures.
LNG Canada says it is also progressing environmental offsetting programs with the creation of salt marshes, a fish ladder, and the diversion of Kitimat River to offset the environmental impact of construction-related work.
Meanwhile, JGC Fluor is advancing Cedar Valley Lodge, the project’s long-term workforce accommodation centre, which LNG Canada says is one of its first and most important projects. The lodge and associated facilities are aimed to open in the second quarter of 2020.
LNG Canada said it also recently made its first contract award for operations.
“We awarded HaiSea Marine, a consortium between the Haisla Nation and Seaspan, a contract to supply and operate tugboats that will be needed to accompany the large LNG vessels as they enter and exit the harbour. Valued at $500M – the contract award will help to ensure long-term employment and career opportunities for Haisla members.,” the joint venture said.
LNG Canada said it also continues to invest in local stakeholders. Since 2012, this includes over $3.5M in community programs, with an additional $3.5M invested in skills training and trades programs.
The project’s first two trains are designed to process approximately 1.7 bcf/d into 14 mtpa of LNG for export by 2025, providing desperately needed relief to the oversupplied natural gas market in Western Canada.
Together, Alberta and British Columbia currently produce about 15.5 bcf/d of natural gas, according to data from the Canadian Energy Regulator.
