Canada’s fledgling LNG export industry could be reaching a milestone as one major project nears start-up and another receives critical support.
Fluor Corp., one of the lead construction engineering, procurement and construction firms working on LNG Canada disclosed earlier in the week that crews had finished the final weld on Train 1.
Fluor’s Jim Breuer, president of energy solutions, said the final push on completing the first of two liquefaction trains is a pivotal moment for both Canada’s liquefied natural gas industry and what is expected to be its first operational terminal.
“We are now one step closer to the introduction of gas and start-up,” Breuer said.
LNG Canada is a joint venture between Shell plc, Petronas, PetroChina Co. Ltd., Mitsubishi Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. The first phase of the facility in British Columbia is expected to place around 12.7 million metric tons/year (mmty) of LNG into the Pacific Basin, starting with first cargoes in mid-2025.
Fluor has been working on the project in conjunction with JGC Corp. as a part of a joint venture partnership.
Feed gas for LNG Canada’s first phase at full capacity could account for 11% of Canada’s current gas production at full capacity, according to NGI calculations. The amount of feed gas required for meeting LNG exports and the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin’s ability to respond to demand could mean short-term impacts to natural gas prices in the western United States.
NGI’s Forward Look data show Northwest Sumas forward fixed prices for the summer of 2025 averaging $2.824/MMBtu. Spot trades at the hub on Wednesday were up 63.5 cents on the day at $1.975, according to NGI data.
Tudor, Pickering, Holt and Co. noted Fluor’s disclosure was one of the first major updates on the project since mid-2023, when the facility was reportedly 85% complete. Since then, the LNG Canada joint venture partners and the TC Energy Corp.-owned Coastal GasLink pipelines have reported cost overruns and delays.
Also earlier in the week, Canadian officials disclosed that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration supports Cedar LNG, which reached a final investment decision in late June. The 3.3 mmty floating storage and regasification unit planned to be moored in BC is being developed in partnership between Pembina Pipeline Corp. and the Haisla Nation.
Innovation, Science and Industry Minister François-Philippe Champagne said the facility is a “model for Canada and the world” in creating equitable energy partnerships.
“Indigenous equity ownership in major projects in the natural resource and energy sectors is about ensuring Indigenous Peoples can fully share in the benefits of Canada’s economic growth,” Champagne said.
Cedar LNG also would be fed by Coastal GasLink through an interconnection. First exports are expected in late 2028.
While visiting near the future site of Cedar LNG on Tuesday, Champagne told Black Press Media that the level of financial support from the Canadian government for the project was still under negotiation.
