Federal Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault on Wednesday approved a floating plant project that will produce three million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) annually in the Kitimat region of British Columbia. This new export complex will be supplied by the Coastal GasLink network, which mainly transports gas produced by fracking. The minister’s office nevertheless claims that the project will achieve “carbon neutrality” by 2050.
In a “decision statement” signed by Steven Guilbeault, the Trudeau government indicates that “the project can go ahead”, in agreement with a green light also given by British Columbia. It must be said that the environmental assessment of the gas complex has been carried out by the province over the past two years, but that certain elements fall under federal jurisdiction.
The Cedar LNG project, piloted by the Haisla Nation and the Pembina Pipeline Corporation, is designed for the export, by LNG tankers, of LNG to the Asia-Pacific market from 2027. Its floating liquefaction plant will be able to process 11.3 million cubic meters of gas every day, according to what can be read in the impact study. The cost of the project is estimated at three billion dollars.
Fracturing
The natural gas will come from the Montney formation, where it is trapped in so-called “tight” reservoirs that require fracturing operations to exploit the resource. The gas will be delivered to the Cedar LNG complex, located in the same region as the LNG Canada megaproject, by the Coastal GasLink network, the construction of which sparked considerable controversy and the national rail blockade crisis in early 2020.
According to what the federal government argued in a press release, “the project will have to meet more than 250 legally binding conditions, including a requirement of carbon neutrality by 2050”. This “net zero emissions” target does not take into account the exploitation of natural gas, nor its use, once exported.
Production at this industrial complex will be powered by hydroelectricity, which means it will have “one of the lowest greenhouse gas emissions intensity in the world, compared to other LNG projects,” according to Ottawa. Minister Guilbeault’s office further pointed out, in an emailed response, that the provincial environmental assessment of the project “concluded that the implementation of the project’s carbon neutrality plan by 2050 should ensure compliance with the commitments Canada’s long-term approach to climate change”.
LNG carriers
The proponent must also implement “a plan to mitigate the impacts resulting from maritime transport in the region”. According to what the impact study specifies, there are 17 species of marine mammals in the region, ten of which have a designation under the Species at Risk Act. All of these species are sensitive to the disturbance associated with commercial transport, which will be amplified in the region due to the completion of the LNG Canada (annual production of 14 million tonnes of LNG) and Cedar LNG projects.
Ottawa believes that this new fossil fuel export project will contribute, particularly through job creation, “to the Government of Canada’s commitment to advancing reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.”
Another LNG production plant and export terminal project is in development, this time in northern British Columbia. This is “Ksi Lisims LNG”, which plans to produce 12 million tonnes of LNG each year, for “at least 30 years”. This project is more ambitious than GNL Québec, which was rejected by Minister Steven Guilbeault. The report from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada concluded that GNL Québec would harm Canada’s climate efforts, and in particular the achievement of “carbon neutrality” by 2050.
However, the shareholders of the Énergie Saguenay plant and terminal project have not said their last word. They have just filed a request for arbitration with the World Bank, in the context of which they could claim billions of dollars in compensation.
The end of LNG Quebec does not sign the death warrant for future LNG projects in Eastern Canada. Pieridae Energy is still evaluating the possibility of building a liquefaction plant in Nova Scotia, which could be supplied by the gas network that crosses Quebec.
Another project, located in New Brunswick, could also use the TQM pipeline: Saint John LNG. The latest project proposed on the East Coast could see the light of day in Newfoundland and Labrador. LNG Newfoundland plans to set up a floating liquefaction plant there, which would be connected to gas production zones located off the island. The gas would be transported through a 600 kilometer underwater gas pipeline.