50 INVEST in BC 2 0 2 4
LEFT:
LNG
CANADA;
TOP:
CEDAR
LNG;
TOP
BOT
TOM:
SKEENA
RESOURCES;
OPPOSITE
PAGE
BOT
TOM:
MART
Y
CLEMENS/KITSELAS
FIRST
NATION
N O R T H C O A S T / N E C H A K O
CANADA'S LARGEST-EVER
INDUSTRIAL PROJECT
Another project nearing completion on the
North Coast in Kitimat will dwarf what's
happened on Watson Island. The LNG
Canada gas liquefaction plant and export
terminal, which together with the Coastal
GasLink pipeline from the Northeast of the
province cost $40 billion, represents the
largest industrial project ever undertaken
on Canadian soil.
Construction activity peaked in 2023
with more than 8,000 workers on site. Now
the consortium building it has entered
the safe startup phase, ensuring all the
components are fully operational, before
commencing shipments of up to 14 million
tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually in
2025. If all goes well, there are plans for a
Phase 2 expansion that would bring output
up to 26 million tonnes per year.
For the North Coast and Nechako
regions, that means taking a breather
from the hectic construction period and
settling into regular operations at the
facility, which will add to notable regional
infrastructure including the Port of Prince
Rupert's now bustling container terminal
and the Rio Tinto aluminum smelter.
In June the Haisla Nation and Pembina
Pipeline made a final investment decision
to proceed with a second gas export
terminal in Kitimat, Cedar LNG, expected
to be operational in 2028. The Haisla
have already plowed some of the proceeds
of industrial development into a new
apartment complex, a health centre and a
cultural centre that will help preserve the
Haisla language.
And third LNG project, Ksi Lisims,
backed by the Nisga'a Nation, is planned
for the Prince Rupert area. Although a final
investment decision has not been made,
pipeline company TC Energy has issued a
start work order on the Prince Rupert Gas
Transmission project, which would supply
the plant with natural gas.
MORE RICHES UNDERGROUND
The North Coast is also home to the
Golden Triangle, an area rich in mining
potential. Much of the $644 million
spent on mining exploration in B.C. last
year was focused on this region, which
currently hosts the Red Chris, Brucejack
and Premier mines, producing gold, silver
and copper. Skeena Resources has raised
sufficient funds to restart the Eskay Creek
gold mine too. And there is even more
excitement around critical minerals
FOREIGN EXCHANGE: The colossal LNG Canada
terminal (below) will start exporting gas in 2025;
another Kitimat facility, Cedar LNG (top), got the
go-ahead this year; the Eskay Creek gold mine is
reopening (middle)
Official Publication of the BC Economic Development Association in special partnership with BCBusiness.
