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According to a statement on Monday, Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, issued her decision under the impact assessment act (IAA), green lighting Ksi Lisims LNG – natural gas liquefaction and marine terminal project to move to the next stage of seeking permits and authorizations.
This decision follows a substituted impact assessment conducted by the government of British Columbia and cooperative work with the Nisga’a Nation, in line with the goal of achieving “one project, one review” for assessments, the statement said.
The assessment found “likely effects of the project on some of the areas of federal jurisdiction to be significant, but only to a limited extent when mitigation measures are considered.”
Moving forward, the proponents — the Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG, and Western LNG — must comply with legally binding conditions set out in the minister’s decision statement.
These include measures to reduce adverse effects on fish and birds, safeguard Indigenous health and socio-economic conditions, and protect cultural heritage and traditional land-use, the statement said.
Floating LNG project
Ksi Lisims LNG plans to produce 12 million tonnes per annum of LNG from two floating production facilities, which will have integrated storage with an aggregate capacity of about 450,000 cbm of LNG.
The proposed facility will have an all-electric process technology developed by US-based engineer Black & Veatch and will be located at Wil Milit on the northern point of Pearse Island, British Columbia.
In July 2023, Black & Veatch and South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries won a contract for the Ksi Lisims LNG nearshore floating production facility.
Last year, the partners agreed to buy the planned Prince Rupert pipeline project from TC Energy.
In addition, the partners signed the first long-term offtake deal with a unit of LNG giant Shell in January last year.
Under the 20-year SPA, Ksi Lisims will supply 2 million tonnes of LNG per year on a free-on-board basis to Shell Eastern Trading.
Earlier this year, French energy giant signed a 20-year deal with Ksi Lisims LNG to buy 2 mtpa of LNG for 20 years from the future liquefaction plant, subject to the final investment decision of the project.
In addition, TotalEnergies will also take a 5 percent stake in Western LNG, the developer, shareholder, and future operator of the Ksi Lisims LNG project.
US-based private equity firm Blackstone also invested in Western LNG.
With regulatory approvals and final investment decisions by the project partners, construction could begin in 2025 with the site operational in 2029, Ksi Lisims LNG previously said.
