Eva Clayton, back left, President of the Nisga’a Lisims Government (joint venture owner of the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG project), Crystal Smith, back right, Haisla Nation Chief Councillor (joint venture owner of the Cedar LNG project, now under construction), and Karen Ogen, front right, CEO of the First Nations Natural Gas Alliance pose for a photograph on the HaiSea Wamis zero-emission tugboat outside the LNG2023 conference, in Vancouver, B.C., Monday, July 10, 2023. CP Images photo

From the Canadian Energy Centre

By Grady Semmens

As construction gets underway on Cedar LNG, the world’s first Indigenous majority-owned LNG export terminal, a report from RBC highlights the project as a model of successful energy development in Canada.

“We broke a pattern that had existed for over a century,” said Karen Ogen, CEO of the First Nations Natural Gas Alliance.

“First Nations have been at the heart of the LNG opportunity, not on the sidelines or just on the job sites but in the boardrooms helping to make it happen.”

RBC said the Cedar LNG project in Kitimat, B.C. – a partnership between the Haisla Nation (50.1 per cent) and Pembina Pipeline Corporation (49.9 per cent) – is a model for Indigenous economic reconciliation in action.

“Canada’s future growth and prosperity depends heavily on getting Indigenous economic reconciliation right,” said report co-author Varun Srivatsan, RBC’s director of policy and strategic engagement.

“If not, the country’s ability to diversify our resource exports, enjoy independence and resiliency in strategic sectors, and improve productivity, which has lagged that of other countries for years, are all at risk.”

RBC outlined the enormous potential of Indigenous-led energy projects to drive economic growth.

Almost three-quarters of the 504 major resource and energy projects planned or underway in Canada run through or are within 20 kilometres of Indigenous territories.

The value of Indigenous equity opportunity from these projects is estimated at $98 billion over the next 10 years, with oil and gas projects dominating the list at $57.6 billion.

“It’s clear that First Nations are critical to LNG in Canada. It’s First Nations territory from where the gas is extracted in Treaty 8 territory, it’s First Nations territory across which gas is transported via pipeline, it’s First Nations territory where LNG terminals are located, and it’s First Nations waters through which carriers take LNG to market. This is why we say Canadian LNG is Indigenous LNG. And we are going to make history,” Ogen said.

Cedar LNG reached a final investment decision last June, following a permitting process that saw the Haisla Nation directly involved in planning the facilities and operations.

This includes a floating LNG terminal with emissions among the world’s lowest, at 0.08 per cent CO2 equivalent per tonne of LNG compared to the global average of 0.35 per cent. Operations are slated to start in late 2028.

“Our community felt it was important that our values of being Haisla, being Indigenous, were felt through every decision that was being made. That is what makes this project unique,” said Crystal Smith, the Haisla Nation’s elected chief councillor.

Central to the Haisla’s involvement in Cedar LNG are the jobs and ongoing revenues that benefit the nation and neighbouring communities.

This has included support for education and cultural programs and building a state-of-the-art health facility and a new housing development.

“Cedar LNG shows what is achievable when you have a shared vision,” Smith said.

“It is going to mean that my kids and grandkids have a different future from what I or anybody in my generation have experienced in our community. It is going to revive our culture, revive our language, and make us stronger going forward.”

From The Canadian Energy Centre

By Cody Ciona

Starting with LNG Canada, producers will finally have access to new customers overseas

Canada’s natural gas production and exports are primed for growth as LNG projects come online, according to Houston, Texas-based consultancy RBN Energy.

Long-awaited LNG export terminals will open the door to Asian markets and break the decades-long grip of the United States as the sole customer for Canada’s natural gas.

RBN projects that Canada’s natural gas exports will rise to 12 billion cubic feet per day (bcf/d) by 2034, up from about 8 bcf/d today. But as more LNG terminals come online, less of that natural gas will head south.

“We think the real possibility exists that the amount of natural gas being exported to the United States by pipeline will actually decline,” said Martin King, RBN’s managing director of North America energy market analysis, on a recent webinar.

RBN’s analysis suggests that Canada’s natural gas exports to the United States could drop to 6 bcf/d by the early 2030s compared to around 8 bcf/d today.

With the first cargo from the LNG Canada terminal at Kitimat, B.C. expected to ship in late June, Canada will finally have access to new markets for natural gas. The first phase of the project will have capacity to ship about 1.8 bcf/d.

And more projects are on the way.

LNG Canada’s joint venture partners are considering a second phase that would double export capacity.

Also at Kitimat, the Cedar LNG project is under construction and is expected to be completed in 2028. The floating terminal led by the Haisla Nation will have capacity to export 0.4 bcf/d.

Woodfibre LNG, located near Squamish, B.C. began construction in late 2023 and is expected to be substantially completed by 2027, with export capacity of about 0.3 bcf/d.

Expansions of LNG Canada and Cedar LNG could put LNG exports into the range of 5 bcf/d in the early 2030s, King said.