Oct 01, 2019
One year later
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On October 1, 2018, following seven years of community engagement and consultation with First Nations, local communities, all levels of government, the business community, regulators and many others, LNG Canada made history when we announced our Joint Venture Participants’ Final Investment Decision to build an LNG export facility in Kitimat, B.C.
One day later, the Project moved into the construction phase, and one year later, the progress that LNG Canada, and our Engineering, Procurement and Construction Contractor, JGC Fluor, have made to the site is impressive.
Current active construction by LNG Canada in Kitimat includes dredging in Kitimat Harbour to get the existing port ready for larger vessels and piling at Terminal A, where we are building a new wharf for Rio Tinto. On top of that, we are progressing our environmental offsetting programs with the creation of salt marshes at Minette Bay and Hospital Beach, a fish ladder at Anderson Creek, and the diversion of Kitimat River to offset the environmental impact of construction-related work.
Earlier this year, LNG Canada handed over construction management of the site to our prime contractor JGC Fluor. One of JGC Fluor’s first and most important projects is advancing Cedar Valley Lodge, our long-term workforce accommodation centre and associated facilities, with an aim to open in Q2 2020. Concurrently, JGC Fluor is clearing and preparing the site, doing topsoil work and demolishing structures at the former Eurocan site.
As of June, 2019, the LNG Canada Project had awarded over $1 billion in contracts and procurement opportunities to companies in British Columbia, including over $558M to local area and First Nations companies.
LNG Canada recently made its first contract award for operations. We awarded HaiSea Marine, a consortium between the Haisla Nation and Seaspan, a contract to supply and operate tugboats that will be needed to accompany the large LNG vessels as they enter and exit the harbour. Valued at $500M – the contract award will help to ensure long-term employment and career opportunities for Haisla members.
BC Hydro will be providing hydro-electric power to the project, helping us achieve the lowest carbon intensity of any large scale LNG plant operating in the world today. BC Hydro is advancing work to construct a transmission line at site.
TC Energy is building the 670-km Coastal GasLink pipeline that will move natural gas from the Montney region in northeast B.C. to our facility in Kitimat – traversing two mountain ranges in the process. The LNG Canada facility construction, together with construction of the CGL pipeline, will provide employment for 10,000 people. LNG Canada has a hire local first policy, followed by hiring workers from British Columbia, then other parts of Canada, and does not foresee needing workers from outside Canada.
While construction across the five key workstreams has been an important focus over the past year, we haven’t strayed from our commitment to be a good neighbour and build on our strong relationships with First Nations, the community and other stakeholders. We have continued to make strategic investments to provide lasting benefit to the communities where we operate. Since 2012, this includes over $3.5M in community programs, with an additional $3.5M invested in skills training and trades programs. In the past year alone, we launched Your Place, an attraction, recruitment, training and employment program designed to encourage more women to enter the construction trades and work on our project; sponsored the Outland Youth Employment Program; announced our contribution of $750,000 towards the building and development of Kitimat’s first dementia home and care aid training program; sponsored the OceanWise Aquavan bringing ecosystem education to kids in Northwest B.C.; provided scholarships for highschool graduates; and much more.
As we reflect on the past year, on the milestones we’ve been able to achieve and the work that still lies ahead, we continue to be driven by our role enabling the energy transition in Canada, and around the world. We aspire to be the Safest Project on Earth, looking out for the safety of the community and to ensure every man and woman working on our project goes home safely every day. We are determined to be a company of significance to all of Canada, sharing value with our neighbours locally, provincially and nationally, and building a workplace that celebrates diversity and inclusion.
Most hiring for the construction phase of our project will be done by our prime contractor, JGC Fluor. If you are interested in working on our project in Kitimat, visit JGC Fluor’s website for recent job postings: https://jfjvkitimat.com/careers/
For those interested in joining the LNG Canada team, visit our career section. As we move closer to operations, more long-term opportunities will be posted here: https://www.lngcanada.ca/opportunities/careers/