CALGARY — Shell PLC and the other co-owners of LNG Canada are preparing the export facility for a potential expansion that would double the terminal’s capacity for producing liquefied natural gas.“Any potential (final investment decision) still remains subject to the joint venture participants independently satisfying all commercial, fiscal, regulatory and governance requirements,” LNG Canada spokesperson Paul Hagel told the Globe and Mail.The contractors for LNG Canada’s Phase 1 terminal in Kitimat, BC, were Fluor Corp. of Texas and JGC Corp. of Japan, who will now be embarking on a series of on-site and off-site work programs to prepare for the possible Phase 2 expansion.JGC Fluor BC LNG — a partnership between JGC and Fluor — is the project’s engineering, procurement and construction contractor.“We look forward to advancing the next phase of this world-class project to help connect Canadian natural gas to global markets,” Pierre Bechelany, Fluor’s business group president of energy solutions, said.LNG Canada — which began operations last year — is the country's first LNG export terminal..Canada's LNG projects need immediate action to capture Asian demand.Phase 1 has the capacity to export 14 million tonnes of LNG per year, a figure that could increase to 15 million tonnes through operating efficiencies.Under the proposed second phase, the terminal’s export capacity would increase from 15 million tonnes per year to as much as 30 million tonnes annually.In May, LNG Canada and Ottawa announced that the project’s owners had approved hundreds of millions of dollars in additional funding to complete key work required ahead of a potential final investment decision (FID) by year-end.Fluor has said the latest work follows a limited notice to proceed from LNG Canada and will focus on early planning, site preparation and other activities needed to position the project for a possible Phase 2 construction decision.Export Development Canada is considering financing for an investor seeking to participate in Phase 1 and the proposed Phase 2.“EDC is working with an entity that has expressed interest in a potential acquisition of an indirect equity stake in the project,” the Crown corporation said in an official statement.Currently, Shell has the largest stake in LNG Canada at 40%, followed by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas (25%), PetroChina (15%), Mitsubishi (15%), and South Korea’s KOGAS (5%).
