LNG Canada Project Mid-Year Update, Summer 2022

I’m pleased to present LNG Canada’s 2022 mid-year update. It’s been an exciting year for us, and our progress has been exceptional. In fact, our project is now more than 60 percent complete, overall. We continue to move swiftly to commissioning our new export facility, hiring new staff to safely start operations, and shipping lower carbon, made-in-B.C. liquified natural gas.

I joined LNG Canada in April. Since then, I’ve been able to meet in person with many stakeholders and members of the Kitimat, Terrace and First Nations communities. It’s been a tremendous experience, and I thank everyone for their warm welcomes, words of encouragement, and advice.

This is truly the job of a lifetime. I’m grateful for the opportunity to help advance this important work, both at our Kitimat project site and in adjacent and local communities.

I’ve been involved with natural gas—and LNG development—for much of my career. I understand the transformational role it will play in a lower carbon future, and in the global energy transition that’s already underway.

And as world events continue to demonstrate, a reliable supply of responsibly produced energy should never be taken for granted. Our LNG will provide security of supply for global markets that can rely on Canada’s natural gas reserves to advance their economies and reduce global GHG emissions. LNG Canada is designed to be the world’s best, lowest carbon producing LNG facility. We want to set the standard for LNG production. That’s our goal, and we’re going to achieve it.

We also understand and care deeply about our responsibilities. These are:

• to continue putting safety at the core of everything we do. LNG Canada’s top priority is – and will always be – the safety of our people and the communities in which we live and work. This is reinforced at all levels, every day.
• to work openly and transparently with all levels of government, and local and Indigenous communities.
• to deliver on our promises, participate in reconciliation, and provide meaningful benefits to British Columbia, including lasting employment, skills training, and community investments.

I’m very happy to report LNG Canada and its prime contractor, JGC Fluor, have to date awarded more than $3.7 billion in procurement and contracts to companies in B.C. And of that amount, almost $3 billion has been awarded to local and Indigenous companies.

The Coastal GasLink pipeline, which will connect to our Kitimat facility and provide the natural gas needed to produce our LNG, has also continued to advance, with thousands of Canadians working along the 670-kilometre route.

We’re happy to share that LNG Canada and its joint venture participants have come to a commercial resolution with Coastal GasLink to address its cost and schedule performance. This positive step allows both companies to move forward with a renewed focus on ensuring the pipeline is constructed safely, within the revised cost estimate, and in time for first LNG cargo by the middle of this decade.

Meanwhile, the LNG Canada site continues to change, quite dramatically. We’re receiving and installing our modules, some more than 10 stories high. These very large pieces of equipment will process the natural gas delivered to our site via the Coastal GasLink pipeline. The processed gas will then be converted to LNG.

You may recall that last year, we talked about Going Vertical. 2022 is our year in High Gear. What does that mean?

Our pace of progress has increased. Right now, approximately 5,000 Canadians are employed at our site in Kitimat. That number will continue to grow as we reach peak construction this year and next. And as we prepare for the next 40 years of safe, reliable operations, we’re offering hundreds of long-term roles to local British Columbians. We’re now recruiting the people who will run and maintain our facility, for decades to come.

We’re also deeply involved with workforce development and skills training. LNG Canada offers a number of innovative programs that give local individuals the tools they need to advance their skills and find employment in very high-demand trades, including those needed at our facility.

Here’s just one example: Working with Coast Mountain College and BCIT, we launched a unique power engineering readiness course that prepares local individuals for the formal college training needed to obtain a fourth-class power engineering certification. Just last month, our first group of 18 students graduated from the readiness program. They included nine Indigenous individuals and nine women. It’s our sincere hope to one day welcome these future power engineers to our growing LNG Canada family.

We have a maxim at LNG Canada: We started building relationships before we began building our project. It’s an important reminder that for us, people always come first.

Thank you for your support, and stay safe.

Jason