Canada is awash in natural gas — enough to last roughly 160 years at current production levels — and federal officials say the country is poised to cash in as global demand tightens and liquefied natural gas exports expand.Blacklock's Reporter says senior bureaucrats from Natural Resources Canada told senators this week that Canada holds an estimated 1,100 trillion cubic feet of marketable natural gas, a resource base they argue strengthens the case for longer export permits now embedded in the federal government’s omnibus budget bill.Appearing before the Senate energy committee, assistant deputy minister Erin O’Brien said the scale of Canada’s reserves gives the country a major advantage as international markets search for secure and politically stable suppliers.“Canada has immense marketable natural gas reserves, estimated to be about 1,100 trillion cubic feet,” O’Brien testified. “This represents approximately 160 years of supply at current production rates.”O’Brien said Canada could be exporting roughly 50 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually by 2030, potentially doubling to 100 million tonnes by 2040. Current production sits at about 19 billion cubic feet per day..Those projections come as senators review Bill C-15, which would extend LNG export licences from 40 years to 50 years. O’Brien said the longer timelines are critical for attracting capital and moving large-scale projects forward.“Longer export licenves will strengthen the business case for major liquefied natural gas projects,” she said.Federal officials also expect global demand to surge beyond the next decade. O’Brien told senators that demand is forecast to exceed supply after 2030, opening the door for Canadian producers to expand.“All of these factors uniquely position Canada’s liquefied natural gas sector to support the growing global market, which many expect will grow to be greater than 600 million tonnes per year by 2050, up from about 400 million tonnes today,” she said.Darren Christie, chief economist with the Canada Energy Regulator, said Ottawa has already approved 23 LNG export licences. Most — 18 of the 23 — are 25-year permits tied to U.S. markets. Only one active licence runs 40 years, covering the LNG Canada project in Kitimat, B.C..Newfoundland and Labrador Sen. David Wells pressed officials on whether the 160-year supply estimate includes offshore resources in Atlantic Canada. Christie replied that the 1.1 quadrillion cubic feet figure largely reflects reserves in the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, where most current production occurs.Cabinet has already signalled strong political backing for LNG expansion. In September, Ottawa designated the expansion of the LNG Canada facility as one of the first five “nation building” projects under Bill C-5, legislation that gives cabinet sweeping authority to fast-track projects deemed to be in the national interest.Alberta remains Canada’s dominant natural gas producer, accounting for about 60% of annual output, followed by British Columbia at 38% and Saskatchewan at 2%, according to Energy Regulator estimates.
