Canada approves 25-year export license for LNG Canada JV

26 February 2013

The government of Canada has approved a long-term export licence to LNG Canada Development Inc. to export liquefied natural gas from the terminal proposed by the Shell consortium in Kitimat, British Columbia. LNG Canada is a joint venture comprising Shell, Korea Gas Corp., Mitsubishi Corp. and PetroChina International.

Currently, all of Canada’s natural gas exports are to the United States. The government said that the approval of the licence demonstrates the momentum of Canada’s burgeoning liquefied natural gas industry and the efforts underway to access growing world markets. Global energy demand is expected to increase by 35% between 2010 and 2035.

The LNG Canada licence is the third long-term licence issued since 2011. This 25-year licence allows for up to 24 million tonnes of LNG to be exported per year, making it the largest licence awarded to date. If this project and the four other proposed LNG projects for BC go forward, they could generate more than $1 trillion in economic activity over the next 30 years, according to the government.

Shell and our partners in LNG Canada—KOGAS, Mitsubishi, and PetroChina—are very pleased about today’s announcement. We also recognize this important milestone is just one of the major regulatory approvals that will be required to make the project a reality, including a comprehensive environmental assessment. We will continue to work closely with First Nations, local communities, and the federal and provincial governments to meet social and environmental expectations.

—Anders Ekvall, Shell’s Vice-President of LNG Americas