Shell’s LNG Canada set to receive LNG cargo as part of commissioning activities

“The vessel Maran Gas Roxana is travelling to the LNG Canada facility in Kitimat to deliver a cargo of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for equipment testing,” the spokesman said.

He said the delivery is expected in early April.

The delivery is “critical to our safe start-up and commissioning process now underway, and to achieving our first cargo by the middle of 2025,” the spokesman said.

According to Maran Gas Roxana’s AIS data provided by VesselsValue, the 2017-built LNG carrier picked up a cargo of LNG at Shell’s QCLNG plant on Curtis Island near Gladstone, Australia, earlier this month.

The data shows that the vessel is expected to arrive at its destination around April 1.

Last month, LNG Canada said that the Kitimat facility is expected to take delivery of an LNG cargo in early April, but it did not reveal the name of the vessel.

The JV noted that most modern LNG projects receive LNG in their commissioning and start-up processes.

“Introducing LNG to our facility is required to cool our LNG tank and operate equipment at cryogenic (low temperature) conditions in early testing,” it said.

Once at the facility, LNG Canada expects that the discharge may take three to four weeks to complete.

One of the largest private investments in Canadian history

Last year, LNG Canada also received a cargo of refrigerants (liquefied petroleum gas) onboard the tanker Gaschem Atlantic for cooldown activities.

Shell’s finance chief, Sinead Gorman, recently confirmed that Shell still expects to launch its LNG Canada export terminal in the middle of this year.

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.

Besides operator Shell, other partners in the project include Malaysia’s Petronas, PetroChina, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, and South Korea’s Kogas.

In August 2024, LNG Canada introduced natural gas to the facility for the first time, from the new Coastal GasLink pipeline.

Contractor JGC Fluor is constructing the first phase of the project, which includes two liquefaction trains.