Kwispaa LNG Terminal

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The Kwispaa LNG Terminal, formerly called the Sarita Bay LNG Terminal, is a proposed LNG terminal in British Columbia, Canada. The owners shelved the project in early 2019 due to investor concerns. There have been no updates since then, and the project is presumed to be cancelled.

Location

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Project Details

• Owner: Steelhead LNG 100%
• Location: Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada
• Coordinates: 49.233889, -124.805 (approximate)
• Type: Export
• Trains: 4
• Capacity: 24 mtpa, 3.44 bcfd (6 mtpa per train)
• Status: Cancelled
• Start Year:

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

Background

Kwispaa LNG Terminal is a proposed LNG export terminal in British Columbia, Canada.

"Vancouver-based Steelhead LNG has announced plans for two LNG projects on Vancouver Island: Malahat LNG, located on Malahat Nation-owned territory north of Victoria, and Sarita LNG (later renamed Kwispaa LNG Terminal), on Huu-ay-aht First Nations lands near Port Alberni. Steelhead has reached a lease agreement with the Malahat Nation and an exploratory agreement with the Huu-ay-aht First Nations," according to the Sightline Institute.

"Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) granted Steelhead export licenses for 6 million metric tons per year from Malahat LNG and 24 million metric tons per year from Sarita LNG. The Malahat facility would rely on natural gas delivered by the Island Gas Connector, an 81-mile pipeline proposed by Williams Pipeline Northwest. The new pipeline would begin in Washington State at Northwest Pipeline’s Canadian gas interconnect at Sumas, run along the floor of the Salish Sea for nearly 50 miles, and connect to the proposed Malahat LNG facility. The pipeline would traverse the treaty-protected fishing areas of several tribes, including the Lummi Nation. Steelhead has not announced pipeline plans for the Sarita Bay project but speculates that it could use a combination of existing and new pipelines to transport gas supply to that facility. Steelhead intends to make an investment decision on Malahat in 2018," the Sightline Institute wrote in their 2017 report, "Mapping BC's LNG Proposals".

In February of 2019, Steelhead LNG stopped work on the Kwispaa LNG project in Sarita Bay on Vancouver Island’s west coast citing investor concerns. There have been no updates since then, and the project is presumed to be cancelled.

Opposition

"In March 2017, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations voted to approve a co-management development relationship for Kwispaa LNG," the Sightline Institute wrote in their 2017 report, "Mapping BC's LNG Proposals". However, an opponent of the development has claimed that Huu-ay-aht First Nation members were bribed and coerced into supporting the project after being promised $2 million for education and training and to double monthly grants to elders. The opponent explained that the nation's government communicated that if people didn't vote yes, programs and services would be lowered.

In March 2018, a group of about twelve protesters gathered outside the Italian Hall where the Port Alberni Chamber of Commerce was scheduled to hear updates from Steelhead LNG and Huu-ay-aht First Nation, which could be built in Sarita Bay, in Huu-ay-aht traditional territory. Protestors were affiliated with the Barkley Sound Alliance (BSA), an organization opposed to the terminal.