CALGARY — Ksi Lisims LNG has signed a 20-year sales agreement with a European customer that would see the potentially $30-billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project on BC’s North Coast move one step closer to a final investment decision.The deal, which was signed this week, will see German utility Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE) purchase up to one million tonnes of LNG annually beginning in the early 2030s.The new contract replaces a preliminary agreement and brings overall firm sales commitments to roughly 58% of Ksi Lisims’ planned annual production capacity, according to the Financial Post.The proposed facility is designed to produce up to 12 million tonnes of LNG per year, and its backers have previously indicated that securing buyers for 70% to 80% of that output would give them greater confidence to proceed to the construction phase.“[The] momentum behind Ksi Lisims LNG is stronger today than at any point in its development,” CEO Davis Thames said in a statement.“We are excited about the months to come.”.BC's Ksi Lisims LNG signs landmark 20-year export deal with Germany.SEFE initially signalled its intention to purchase LNG from Ksi Lisims through a preliminary agreement in May.Chief commercial officer Frederic Barnaud said the binding contract “is an important step in further diversifying SEFE’s global LNG portfolio” for its European utility customers.“Together with Ksi Lisims, we will help strengthen energy security while advancing the transition to a more sustainable energy system,” Barnaud said.The LNG is set to be sold on a free-on-board basis, giving SEFE more flexibility over where the cargoes are delivered.Ksi Lisims has also recently secured binding long-term contracts with Uniper, another German utility; Shell; and a TotalEnergies subsidiary, each covering roughly two million tonnes annually.Other preliminary agreements with Santos of Australia and Britain’s Centrica would each add another one million tonnes a year if converted into binding contracts, bringing committed sales to 75% of planned capacity.Ksi Lisims is a partnership between Houston-based Western LNG and the Nisga’a First Nation. The project includes a floating LNG terminal on Pearse Island and the proposed 750-kilometre Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline connecting the facility to northeastern BC..UPDATED: LNG Canada approves expansion as Poilievre says Carney should apologize for delays.The agreement comes after LNG Canada’s decision last month to proceed with the second phase of its Kitimat, BC,facility, which would see its planned capacity doubled from 14 million to 28 million tonnes annually.Analysts such as Alex Munton with Houston-based Rapidan Energy Group have said demand for reliable energy supplies continues to be a factor in furthering LNG developments on Canada’s West Coast, and the persistent disruptions in the Middle East have strengthened Canada’s appeal to potential buyers.“At the time when they were launching this project, it was all very uncertain,” Munton said.“But now, in the context of the situation in the Middle East and huge disruption to LNG … Western Canada stands quite tall in terms of places to diversify supply.”
