Canada’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector is surging forward, bolstered by a second major foreign investment in just five months.
This weekend, French energy giant TotalEnergies signed a 20-year sales and purchase agreement (SPA) for 2 million tonnes per annum (Mtpa) from the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG project in British Columbia — its latest move to deepen North American LNG ties.
The deal marks another milestone for the project, following a similar offtake agreement signed by Shell earlier this year.
The agreement positions Canada ahead of Alaska in the intensifying race to develop West Coast LNG export capacity to Asia, the world’s fastest-growing LNG market. Ironically, KsI Lisims is located almost adjacent to the Alaska border.
TotalEnergies has also taken a 5% stake in Western LNG — the Houston-based firm developing Ksi Lisims — and holds an option to expand its share to 10% when a final investment decision is made later this year.
“This purchase of LNG from Ksi Lisims will diversify our North American supply and strengthen our portfolio for Asian markets,” said Stéphane Michel, President of Gas, Renewables and Power for TotalEnergies.
“It aligns with our low-emission goals and long-term customer commitments.”
The 12 Mtpa Ksi Lisims LNG facility, which will be located on Pearse Island in the Nisga’a Nation territory, stands out in the global market for its full electrification powered by hydroelectricity — making it one of the world’s lowest-emission LNG projects.
Yet, the momentum is shadowed by complications surrounding the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline needed to feed the facility.
Once projected to cost $5 billion, the pipeline’s estimated price tag has balloned to $12 billion. It is also mired in controversy, legal challenges, and protests by indigenous groups who object to its route through their traditional territories.
In another twist of irony, Ksi Lisims is now backed US-based Western LNG — whose major investor Blackstone Inc., is in turn chaired by Trump advisor Steve Schwarzman — even as Canada faces rising trade tensions with the United States.
President Donald Trump has threatened tariffs on Canadian energy exports. In turn, activists have criticized British Columbia’s support for a pipeline “owned by a billionaire funding the man who’s been threatening to annex Canada.”
Environmental groups, including Ecojustice, argue that PRGT lacks a legitimate environmental basis to proceed under modern standards.
Meanwhile, protests have erupted across the province, with sit-ins on Friday at the BC Ministry of Energy and Premier David Eby’s office demanding the rejection of both the US-backed pipeline and the terminal itself.
Despite those headwinds, global demand for LNG is surging.
At last week’s World Gas Conference in Beijing, Meg O’Neill, CEO of Woodside Energy, projected global LNG demand would jump 50% by 2030, citing long-term contracts — including TotalEnergie’s — being signed well into the 2040s. LNG, she said, remains a “critical part of the energy transition.”
Yet, the geopolitical and environmental tensions surrounding Ksi Lisims are emblematic of a broader global dilemma: how to meet rising energy demand while addressing climate goals and indigenous rights.
For now, the project has a strong commercial foundation and international momentum. With TotalEnergies now on board, Canada’s West Coast LNG ambitions are more credible than ever.
Still, as BC weighs the fate of PRGT’s environmental certificate, and as protest movements escalate, the path to LNG exports remains as politically fraught as it is economically promising.
