Kitimat LNG Terminal

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Kitimat LNG Terminal was a proposed LNG terminal in British Columbia, Canada. The project investors Chevron and Woodside Energy have both withdrawn support for the project, and the project is presumed to be cancelled.

Location

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Project Details

• Owner: Chevron Canada (50%), Woodside Energy (50%)
• Operator: Chevron Canada, Woodside Energy
• Parent: Chevron
• Location: Port of Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada
• Coordinates: 53.92569797, -128.7530518 (exact)
• Capacity: 18 mtpa
• Status: Shelved
• Type: Export
• Trains: 3
• Start Year: 2029

Note: mtpa = million tonnes per year; bcfd = billion cubic feet per day

Background

Kitimat LNG Terminal was a proposed LNG terminal in British Columbia, Canada.

"Kitimat LNG is a joint venture between oil giant Chevron and Australian oil and gas corporation Woodside Energy. Like Shell and Exxon, Chevron is one of the top players in the fracked natural gas market. Kitimat LNG has been in development since 2004 under the development name KM LNG Operating Partnership. The ownership structure has changed several times since the project began: the partnership was originally led by the Canadian arm of Texas-based Apache Corporation. The planned facility would be located next door to another proposed LNG project at Bish Cove on the Douglas Channel, on land leased from the Haisla Nation. Chevron’s proposed 480-kilometer Pacific Trail Pipeline would deliver gas to the facility from the Liard and Horn River basins. Chevron and Woodside hope to export 10 million metric tons of LNG per year from the liquefaction plant," according to the Sightline Institute's 2018 report, "Update: Mapping BC’s LNG Proposals."

The liquefaction plant would consist of two liquefaction trains with up to 6 mtpa production capacity each with an option for a third liquefaction train of the same capacity. The Kitimat LNG Terminal project will also consist of an approximately 17-kilometer pipeline that will connect the LNG terminal to existing or new natural gas pipeline infrastructure in Kitimat B.C. The commissioning of the Kitimat LNG Terminal is anticipated to be no later than 2029.

As of June 2017, the facility secured all environmental approvals. But as of January 2018, it had still not announced a final investment decision. The company is re-evaluating its original project design in order to drive down costs, which are now seen as too high given the global collapse of LNG prices.

In December of 2019, Chevron announced plans to sell its 50% stake in the project. The project has experienced extensive ownership turnover. Chevron originally bought its 50% stake from Calgary-based Encana Corp. and Houston-based EOG Resources in December 2012. In 2020, Apache sold its 50% stake to Australia’s Woodside Petroleum, which remains Chevron's partner in the project.

In March 2021, Chevron announced that it was stopping its funding of further feasibility work for the Kitimat LNG project after failing to find a buyer for its 50% stake in the development. Ian Archer, global natural gas analyst with IHS Markit, said of the decision: "Cancellation [by Chevron] probably means the project is off the books for a significant amount of time, if not completely dead". Ellis Ross, a Liberal member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly, observed that while the project might not necessarily be cancelled as a result of Chevron's decision, it would require new investors.

In May 2021, Woodside Energy announced that it was joining Chevron in divesting from the Kitimat LNG project. The company wrote down its $720 million investment in the project and said that it plans to sell its 50% stake. Chevron continued to look for a buyer for its 50% stake.