Chris Cooper has taken over as president and chief executive officer of LNG Canada as the Shell-led JV prepares to ship the first LNG cargoes from the Kitimat facility.
In December 2024, LNG Canada named Cooper as its new CEO, replacing Jason Klein, who took over the CEO role in April 2022.
LNG Canada said in a statement on Thursday that Cooper formally started his duties as LNG Canada’s president and CEO this week.
“I’m pleased to be asked to lead LNG Canada as we work to safely complete our Phase 1 construction, advance our commissioning and start-up program, and move into safe and responsible operations while continuing to work towards a potential Phase 2 expansion,” Cooper said.
After years of planning and construction that has involved more than 45,000 Canadians on the plant scope, the first phase of the LNG Canada facility is nearing completion in Kitimat, in the traditional territory of the Haisla Nation.
LNG Canada said it “remains on track” to ship first cargoes by the middle of 2025.
The JV just received a cargo of LNG as part of the commissioning and start-up phase.
One of the largest private investments in Canadian history, LNG Canada will initially produce 14 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) LNG for export. With a proposed Phase 2 expansion, it plans to double its capacity to 28 mtpa.
Contractor JGC Fluor is constructing the first phase of the project, which includes two liquefaction trains.
LNG Canada is Canada’s first large LNG export facility.
Besides operator Shell, other partners in the project include Malaysia’s Petronas, PetroChina, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, and South Korea’s Kogas.