Feds to contribute up to $200M for Haisla-led project to ship liquefied natural gas to Asia
Cedar LNG on B.C.'s North Coast set to be largest majority Indigenous-owned project in Canada
The federal government says it will contribute up to $200 million to a floating liquefied natural gas export facility off B.C.'s North Coast, saying it's an important part of diversifying Canada's economy.
The project is Cedar LNG, a collaboration between Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. and the Haisla First Nation, and is slated to be the largest Indigenous majority-owned infrastructure project in Canadian history, stakeholders say.
Originally valued at $3 billion, the federal government now says it will cost an estimated $5.9 billion to build, creating 300 jobs during construction and 100 full-time jobs once operational.
"The need to build a resilient economy with new export opportunities for Canadian energy suppliers has never been clearer," Jonathan Wilkinson, the federal energy and natural resources minister, said in a statement Friday.
"Our international partners are looking for a reliable supplier of low-carbon energy sources, and Canada will be there to enable communities."
Cedar LNG has also been identified by the B.C. government as one of several projects it wants to fast-track in order to stave off the threat imposed by U.S. tariffs.
The project consists of a floating natural gas liquefaction plant and marine export terminal located in the Douglas Channel near Kitimaat Village, a Haisla community approximately 380 kilometres directly west of Prince George, B.C.
Scheduled to be in service in late 2028, it will have the capacity to liquefy approximately 3.3 million tonnes of natural gas per year for export to Asian markets.
Crystal Smith, chief councillor of the Haisla Nation, said the project fits into her community's values of sustainability because it will have "one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world."
The plant itself is meant to be powered by hydroelectricity, and the natural gas will be fed in for liquefying via an eight kilometre-long pipeline spur connected to the main Coastal GasLink pipeline, which travels across British Columbia from near Dawson Creek, passing through Wet'suwet'en territory and which has been subject to widespread protests and legal challenges.
While proponents of a Canadian LNG industry say liquefied natural gas from Canada could help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by replacing coal in countries that still rely on the dirtier fuel, environmentalists argue LNG creates its own emissions through the liquefaction and transportation process, as well as through the drilling and flaring of natural gas.
They say building massive LNG terminals that require huge upfront capital investments "locks in" future greenhouse gas emissions at a time when the world needs to be planning for a lower-carbon future.
With files from The Canadian Press