ARCHIVED: Natural Gas Development
This was the year British Columbia secured a liquefied natural gas export industry.
The guarantee happened in November when Woodfibre LNG announced they will move forward their facility, representing $1.6 billion in new investment and hundreds of jobs. It marked the first confirmation that B.C.’s clean natural gas will reach markets in Asia.
It’s a project that joins the work already underway in Delta where FortisBC is expanding their facility to serve domestic needs and potential export. This expansion has already provided $60 million in contract work to over 100 companies and businesses in communities such as Vancouver, Langley, Abbotsford, and Coquitlam.
Both of these projects are a fraction of what’s on the horizon for B.C.’s economy should more, larger proposals move forward, including Pacific NorthWest LNG.
The Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal, pending a confirmed final investment decision, would result in up to $36 billion in new capital spending, 4,500 new construction jobs and close to 350 permanent positions. These benefits are in addition to the thousands of jobs created and sustained to support the proposal’s long-term operations and supply needs.
As 2016 concludes, we estimate over $20 billion has been invested by the industry so far. Companies have spent money to acquire natural gas assets and move development forward, facilitating growth and creating jobs. Progress Energy, for instance, has spent upwards of $2 billion annually and supported 4,000 jobs in exploration and development for the Pacific NorthWest LNG proposal.
A scenario of five export facilities moving forward holds the prospect of $175 billion being invested in British Columbia – an unprecedented economic boost which we are capitalizing on.
Alongside economic growth, investments are also being made to build a cleaner natural gas sector. In 2016, the Government of British Columbia introduced a Clean Infrastructure Royalty Credit Program – the first of its kind in Canada – with royalty deductions of up to $20 million attracting new private-sector funding for clean technologies. Once built and in operation, these projects will reduce greenhouse-gas emissions linked to the industry, complementing our commitment to have the cleanest LNG facilities in the world.
Moving forward, our new Climate Leadership Plan will guide efforts to limit emissions even more, including a plan to power operations in northeast B.C with electricity. Fully electrifying exploration activities in the Montney Basin, for example, could avoid up to 4 million tonnes of emissions per year, minimizing the greenhouse gas footprint of our province’s busiest resource area.
Since the BC Jobs Plan was released in 2011 we have been focused on developing a viable, competitive new industry to diversify our economy, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help our natural gas sector grow. It’s happening now, and we are just getting started.
There is more work to complete as the industry diversifies. Collaboration with First Nations is ongoing as we strengthen environmental stewardship programs and finalize economic benefits agreements. Partnerships with trades associations are also coming together to increase skills training for Aboriginal communities and for those interested in finding a career in the natural gas sector. These are priorities the provincial government will be supporting in 2017 and beyond.
This was a banner year for British Columbia’s natural gas sector; our actions helped Woodfibre LNG announce they will move forward and they supported Pacific NorthWest LNG’s pending decision. The LNG industry is a long-term commitment and one we will continue to promote globally at the next LNG Conference, Nov. 28 – 30, 2017.
