The Shell-led LNG Canada export project has received a large module from China, as work continues to progress on the giant facility in Kitimat.
LNG Prime reported on this module in January when it left COOEC’s Qingdao yard in China on board the semi-submersible vessel Forte.
According to a statement by LNG Canada on Friday, the vessel delivered the module at the LNG Canada project site in Kitimat on March 10, marking another phase in construction activities at Canada’s first major LNG facility.
Measuring 35 meters in height and weighing 4,618 metric tonnes, the inlet facilities module would serve as the entry point for natural gas delivered to the LNG Canada site via the TC Energy-led Coastal GasLink pipeline, it said.
This is the first of more than a dozen highly advanced process modules built for the first phase of the LNG Canada project which includes building two liquefaction trains with a capacity of 14 mtpa.
The new inlet facilities module would receive natural gas directly from the pipeline and evenly distribute it at a constant flow to treatment facilities and processes, including liquefaction and storage, LNG Canada said.
Over the next days, LNG Canada and its main contractor JGC Fluor would move the module from the new material offloading facility at the Port of Kitimat to its place at the main LNG processing site.
Following arrival at the site, the module will be placed on a foundation specifically designed to accommodate its dimensions, joining several other large pieces of LNG infrastructure installed in recent months.
60 percent completion, first LNG by the middle of this decade
“Taking delivery of our inlet facilities module represents another key milestone for our project, which is now approaching 60 percent completion,” says LNG Canada CEO Peter Zebedee.
“This is a very important year for us, with a pace of construction not seen previously. Thanks to thousands of highly skilled Canadians working at our site in Kitimat, we’re making excellent progress as we advance through construction and prepare for 40 years of safe operations,” Zebedee said.
The CEO added that LNG Canada remains committed to delivering its first cargo by the middle of this decade.
Besides Shell, other partners in LNG Canada include Malaysia’s Petronas, PetroChina, Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation, and South Korea’s Kogas.