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.

Marjorie Mallare at Imperial Oil’s Strathcona refinery. 

Fr0m the Canadian Energy Centre

By Cody Ciona

Mallare manages an all-female team of engineers helping keep operations smooth and safe

As the utilities and hydroprocessing technical lead for Imperial Oil’s Strathcona Refinery near Edmonton, 32-year-old Marjorie Mallare and her team help ensure operations run smoothly and safely at one of Canada’s largest industrial facilities.

The exciting part, she says, is that all four engineers she leads are female.

It’s part of the reason Mallare was named one of ten Young Women in Energy award winners for 2025.

“I hope they realize how important the work that they do is, inspiring and empowering women, connecting women and recognizing women in our industry,” she says.

“That can be very pivotal for young women, or really any young professional that is starting off their career.”

Born and raised in the Philippines, Mallare and her family moved to Edmonton near the end of junior high school.

Living in the industrial heartland of Alberta, it was hard not to see the opportunity present in the oil and gas industry.

When she started post-secondary studies at the University of Alberta in the early 2010s, the industry was booming.

“The amount of opportunities, at least when I started university, which was around 2011, was one of the high periods in our industry at the time. So, it was definitely very attractive,” Mallare says.

When choosing a discipline, engineering stood out.

“At the time, chemical engineering had the most number of females, so that was a contributing factor,” she says.

“Just looking at what’s available within the province, within the city, chemical engineering just seemed to offer a lot more opportunities, a lot more companies that I could potentially work for.”

Through work co-ops in oil and gas, her interest in a career in the industry continued to grow.

“It just kind of naturally happened. That drew my interest more and more, and it made it easier to find future opportunities,” Mallare says.

Following a work practicum with Imperial Oil and graduation, she started working with the company full time.

On the side, Mallare has also driven STEM outreach programs, encouraging young women to pursue careers in engineering.

In addition to supporting the Strathcona Refinery’s operations department, Mallare and her team work on sustainability-focused projects and reducing the refinery’s carbon footprint.

The 200,000 barrel per day facility represents about 30 per cent of Western Canada’s refining capacity.

“Eventually, our group will also be responsible for running the new renewable diesel unit that we’re planning to commission later this year,” says Mallare.

Once completed, the $720 million project will be the largest renewable diesel facility in Canada, producing more than one billion litres of biofuel annually.

Projects like these are why Mallare believes Canada will continue to be a global energy leader.

“We’re leading others already with regards to pursuing more sustainable alternatives and reducing our carbon footprints overall. That’s not something we should lose sight of.”