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Vancouver Sun
3 days ago
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
Pro-gas, anti-oil: B.C.'s NDP has monetary and environmental reasons for backing LNG
VICTORIA — The week ended with encouraging pipeline news from the B.C. government, as opposed to how the week started. The province's environmental assessment office announced approval on Thursday for continued construction of the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, half-owned by the Nisga'a nation which plans a floating LNG export terminal on the coast. 'This is an important step — not just for PRGT, but for the Nisga'a Nation's vision of self-determination and long-term prosperity,' said Eva Clayton, elected president of the Nisga'a Lisims government. 'For too long, Indigenous Nations have watched resource development happen around us, instead of with us.' Stay on top of the latest real estate news and home design trends. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Westcoast Homes will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Contrast the NDP greenlighting of the Nisga'a-backed natural gas project with its reaction to the proposal, touted earlier in the week, for a pipeline to transport Alberta oil through B.C. to tidewater at Prince Rupert or Kitimat. 'That idea doesn't make sense to us,' said Energy Minister Adrian Dix, echoing similar comments from Deputy Premier Niki Sharma and Premier David Eby. A natural gas pipeline makes far more sense to the New Democrats because, for starters, the financial returns would be greater for the provincial treasury. B.C. has little oil to develop or export but vast reserves of natural gas. The New Democrats also promote natural gas as a 'transition fuel,' to help wean customers off reliance on oil and coal as energy sources. Plus, as former NDP Premier John Horgan used to say, natural gas pipelines are preferable over the oil variety, because when a line ruptures, natural gas vents into the atmosphere while oil inundates the landscape. The Eby government telegraphed support for the Nisga'a natural gas project in the runup to last month's critical vote on Bills 14 and 15. Most major Indigenous leaders in the province asked the government to hold off passage on the legislation that gave the cabinet sweeping powers to fast-track approval of energy (Bill 14) and infrastructure (Bill 15) projects. But on the day the New Democrats used their legislative majority to push through the bills, the premier's office circulated a letter of endorsement for those laws from Nisga'a president Clayton. The letter was intended to underscore a point made by a senior NDP staffer when asked why the NDP's own Indigenous MLAs were voting for the legislation: 'The Indigenous community is not a monolith.' Still, the news was barely out Thursday regarding environmental approval for the PRGT natural gas project, when opponents announced that the fight was not over. 'A reckless decision that prioritizes profits for foreign billionaires over Indigenous rights, environmental protection and community well-being,' said the news release from the Green party. Which is the kind of rhetoric one might have heard from David Eby in his previous incarnation as an NDP activist. Today, it is more likely to feed the exasperation Eby expressed in the legislature last week when interim Green leader Jeremy Valeriote accused him of failing to consult and cooperate on policy and legislation. 'For Pete's sake, we just issued a report together,' replied Eby, referring to the update from the New Democrats and Greens on their cooperation agreement. 'The executive summary says 'the cooperation and responsible government accord between the B.C. Green caucus and the B.C. New Democrat caucus reflects a shared commitment to working collaboratively on issues that matter to people.'' Valeriote's effort to have it both ways recalls former leader Andrew Weaver, who threatened to 'bring down' the John Horgan NDP government for providing tax and regulatory incentives to secure the LNG Canada project. Horgan enacted the incentives with the support of the then Liberal Opposition. Eby has the votes to proceed without opposition support, as he demonstrated last week on Bills 14 and 15. The 900-kilometre PRGT line runs in part through the territory of the Gitanyow people, whose hereditary chiefs oppose the project. 'This isn't the end of the story,' said Gitanyow Chief Watakhayetsxw, also known as Deborah Good, who took part in a blockade that stopped construction on the line last year. 'We'll continue to fight to protect our territory with all actions needed, in the courts and on the ground.' Also weighing in was Grand Chief Stewart Phillip of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs, who seldom misses an opportunity to blast the NDP government despite the fact his wife, Joan, is an NDP MLA. 'This is not a government that believes in reconciliation, and it could trigger a long, hot summer,' he said in a statement. The Prince Rupert pipeline and the LNG project are both subject to legal challenges. The LNG terminal also needs environmental approval. But it should be recalled that there was also ferocious opposition to the Coastal GasLink pipeline, now serving the LNG Canada terminal in Kitimat. Construction was blocked and, in one instance, sabotaged. The legislature itself was blockaded for a time. Still, the line was completed, the gas is already being delivered to the terminal site, and LNG shipments are imminent. Energy Minister Adrian Dix is planning to visit the project later this month. Perhaps Eby will join him in taking credit for a project that would not have happened without NDP support. vpalmer@
Calgary Herald
4 days ago
- Business
- Calgary Herald
Pipeline planned to supply LNG project receives green light from B.C. regulator
Article content British Columbia has once again green-lit the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline, reaffirming an approval first issued under the former Christy Clark government for the line that will supply a major new liquefied natural gas export terminal proposed on the province's northern coast. Article content The decision by the head of B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) on Thursday means that PRGT's environmental assessment certificate will remain in effect for the life of the project, clearing a major regulatory hurdle for the 12-million-tonne-per-year (Mtpa) Ksi Lisims LNG project. Article content Article content Article content 'This is an important step, not just for PRGT, but for the Nisga'a Nation's vision of self-determination and long-term prosperity,' Eva Clayton, president of Nisga'a Lisims Government, which co-owns PRGT and Ksi Lisims with Houston-based Western LNG LLC, said in a statement. Article content Article content The floating LNG terminal proposed for Pearse Island, north of Prince Rupert, B.C., still awaits key environmental sign-offs from provincial and federal officials, but Thursday's decision confirms that the 750-kilometre pipeline intended to supply feed gas to the liquefaction facility can go ahead. Article content PRGT, which would transport around two billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) of natural gas from northeastern B.C. to the West Coast, had initially been granted its certificate in 2014 when TC Energy Corp. advanced the project to supply the Petronas-backed Pacific NorthWest LNG project. Article content Article content But Petroliam Nasional Bhd. — the legal name of Malaysia's state-owned Petronas — cancelled Pacific NorthWest LNG in 2017 amid economic and regulatory headwinds, leaving PRGT to languish until Western LNG and the Nisga'a Nation bought the project in 2024, amending and shortening the proposed route to supply Ksi Lisims LNG. Article content Article content The long delay put the pipeline at risk of losing its environmental certificate since, under provincial rules, each certificate comes with a deadline by which a project must be substantially started and PRGT's was contingent upon a November 2024 start date. Article content But in his decision released Thursday, Alex MacLennan, head of the EAO, pointed to the clearing of 42 kilometres of the pipeline's right-of-way and the construction of permanent features identified in the project's plans, including nine bridges, 47 kilometres of roads and a lodge.
Vancouver Sun
20-05-2025
- Business
- Vancouver Sun
French oil giant TotalEnergies returns significantly to Canada with bet on burgeoning LNG industry
French oil major TotalEnergies SE has secured a toehold in Canada's emerging liquefied natural gas industry, signing long-term agreements with the proponents of Ksi Lisims LNG , a proposed export terminal on the northwest coast of British Columbia. The deal announced Monday would see TotalEnergies purchase two million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Nisga'a Nation-backed project over a period of 20 years. It marks the second major offtake, or pre-purchase, agreement for the floating LNG terminal on Pearse Island, north of Prince Rupert, which signed a similar deal with global energy giant Shell in 2023. Locking in long-term buyers for its natural gas exports, scheduled to begin in 2029, is critical if project backers Western LNG, Rockies LNG and the Nisga'a Nation are to give the project the green light, with a final investment decision (FID) expected later this year. Start your day with a roundup of B.C.-focused news and opinion. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sunrise will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. Under the agreements, TotalEnergies is also acquiring a five per cent stake in project developer, shareholder and future operator Western LNG, with the option of increasing that stake or taking a direct ownership share in the Ksi Lisims project of up to 10 per cent. 'TotalEnergies is the largest purchaser of North American LNG, and one of the largest producers and portfolio players in the world,' Davis Thames, president and chief executive of Western LNG said in a statement. 'Their experience with development and operations will be a welcome addition to the project as we move steadily toward FID later this year so that we can provide reliable, low-carbon Canadian LNG to growing global markets.' The announcement also marks a significant return by TotalEnergies to Canada's oil and gas sector after its high-profile exit from the oilsands in 2023; at the time, the company said it was divesting its oilsands interests in order to focus on plays with lower breakeven points, in a move that was hailed by some analysts as a positive given increased investor interest in lower carbon energy. Ksi Lisims will have a total export capacity of about 12 Mtpa or 1.58 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) once complete and is planned to be fully electrified, powered through a tie-in to BC Hydro's planned North Coast transmission line. 'TotalEnergies shares our vision of bringing cleaner energy to the world, advancing Indigenous leadership in the global economy and sharing our deep commitment to environmental stewardship,' Eva Clayton, president of Nisga'a Lisims government said in a statement. The project is currently under review by the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office. However, the environmental review is not the only hurdle for Ksi Lisims. B.C. Environment Minister Tamara Davidson is soon expected to make a key determination on a related regulatory matter over the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) project, the pipeline that will supply feed gas to the Ksi Lisims LNG export terminal. While PRGT received its initial environmental permits in 2014, it was required to have been 'substantially started' by November 2024 in order to maintain its environmental certificate. The project's proponents, the Nisga'a Nation and Western LNG, say construction started in August 2024, but those claims have been challenged by some Indigenous and environmental opponents who say the activities were limited and don't meet the threshold for a substantial start. The country's largest and most advanced LNG export project remains the Shell-backed LNG Canada terminal in Kitimat B.C., the first phase of which is reportedly set to begin loading cargo in June; a second phase, which would double the facility's capacity to 3.68 Bcf/d, is still uncertain. If Ksi Lisims LNG is approved, and LNG Canada's owners green light a second phase, the country's total approved LNG export capacity could reach nearly six Bcf/d. Tourmaline Oil Corp. chief executive Michael Rose said there are multiple large Canadian gas producers lined up to supply the project through the Rockies LNG partnership. 'Hopefully, there's Canadian momentum to start approving these projects,' Rose said on a recent earnings conference call prior to TotalEngergies' announcement. 'Because (of) just how important LNG is to Canada, because it's great for the economy of the entire country; it reduces emissions in the global atmosphere and it's a great opportunity for improving Indigenous prosperity.' mpotkins@ Bookmark our website and support our journalism: Don't miss the business news you need to know — add to your bookmarks and sign up for our newsletters here.
