As energy commentator Geoff Russ notes: “BC is set to become Canada’s top supplier of LNG to Asia and the Pacific, and First Nations are leading that transformation.”
And, he wrote in National Post: “Both the Nisga’a and the Haisla First Nations in B.C. are ensuring they will determine their own futures by owning major projects, employing hundreds of people, and accruing revenues to build up their communities.
“This is the best vision of reconciliation, one that integrates First Nations into the B.C. economy as leaders on their own terms, with jobs and benefits for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people alike.”
This came as the LNG carrier Diamond Gas Crystal was en route to Japan with the 16th export cargo from LNG Canada, and four more carriers are expected at Kitimat in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, LNG Canada is getting set to start its second production unit, Train 2, and the LNG Canada partners are actively considering Phase 2 expansion that would double the output capacity of the plant to 28 million tonnes per year
All in all, BC is already becoming a hydrocarbon powerhouse, thanks to world demand for LNG.
BC has 9,628 producing gas wells, and the province is expected to hit 10.6 billion cubic feet a day of gas production by 2030, up 41%. That would put BC ahead of energy giants such as Algeria, Turkmenistan and the United Arab Emirates.
By 2031, BC’s output is set to match (then eventually surpass) Alberta’s natural-gas volumes. Nine countries account for over 70% of world natural-gas production; on the list of the Top Ten countries Canada is already Number 6.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) says LNG supply is entering its largest growth wave in history — with Canada among three countries driving the expansion. And while the boom may mean lower prices for gas and LNG,
The IEA also says global energy investment is on track to rise to US$3.3 trillion in 2025. For natural gas, make that US$365 billion.
And as Alberta’s Canadian Energy Centre reports, “Canada fuels America” — about 99% of US natural-gas imports come from north of the border.
Some of that is turned into LNG at plants on the US Gulf Coast, and is primarily exported to European LNG customers. And Türkiye, for one, is to begin $43-billion in US LNG imports in 2027.
There’s an estimate that Gulf Coast LNG export capacity will nearly double by the end of 2030: https://ow.ly/SMR250Xa3OP
To reach European LNG customers directly from Canada, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith urges Quebec to develop its own natural-gas industry.
But while some federal officials tout a proposed LNG facility in Quebec as having the potential to export “substantial volumes” of LNG to Europe, the federal energy minister says a new Quebec LNG proposal from a Danish company is not of national interest at this point.
Back to Geoff Russ: He points out that in the near future, the north coast of BC will become the biggest LNG export hub in Canada.
Following LNG Canada at Kitimat, the Haisla Nation aims to open its floating Cedar LNG project in 2028, making 3.3 million tonnes of LNG a year in partnership with Pembina Pipeline Corporation. Construction is already under way.
And the Nisga’a Nation (with Rockies LNG and Western LNG) hopes to begin construction soon, and to have the Ksi Lisims LNG project online in 2029, producing up to 12 million tonnes of LNG per year.
Business in Vancouver (BIV) reported that the Ksi Lisims partners aim to make a final investment decision by the end of this year, and could start construction soon after that.
The headline on the BIV story: “B.C. braces for new energy boom as Ksi Lisims nears go-ahead’
And the story said: “It’s estimated Ksi Lisims would contribute $17 billion to the Canadian economy over 30 years, and $3 billion to $6.2 billion in labour income.”
Ksi Lisims LNG and the associated PRGT natural-gas pipeline represent $20 billion in capital investment.
And federal Energy Minister Tim Hodgson says: “Ksi Lisims LNG is a powerful example of how Canada is building its future as an energy superpower. This project brings together the federal government, provinces, and industry — showing what’s possible when we work as one.”
LNG Action reported that Ksi Lisims is projected to generate $2.5 billion a year in Canadian GDP, and adds: “The Ksi Lisims LNG project is a shining example of . . . a significant source of Indigenous economic reconciliation.”
Writes Geoff Russ: “Those First Nations that bet early and bet big on LNG are poised to reap the windfall as industry players enter an exciting competition to supply Asia with LNG.”
Eva Clayton, president of the Nisga’a Lisims Government, says of Ksi Lisims LNG: “This is what reconciliation looks like: A modern treaty Nation, once on the sidelines of our economy, now leading a project that will help write the next chapter of a stronger, more resilient Canada.”
(Clayton is also vice-chair of our First Nations Natural Gas Alliance.)
Cedar LNG and Ksi Lisims LNG would boost benefits to their Indigenous peoples, and both Nations have promised to ensure other Nations also benefit.
And the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) says BC’s natural-gas industry has already created $832 million in opportunities for businesses with Indigenous ties.
Benefits from natural gas and LNG are also increasing to the BC government and thus people across BC. Canada Action reports that the BC government has already drawn some $24 billion in royalties from the natural-gas sector.
CAPP also shows how 2,250 British Columbia businesses in 120 different communities have received $6.1 billion worth of spending from natural-gas producers. “BC builds on natural gas.”
LNG Action adds: “In addition to job opportunities and government revenues, our energy industry is a massive direct contributor to social programs, healthcare, education and community building. Why would anyone be against that?”
As we noted in our last blog, BC Premier David Eby has brought the BC NDP onside on LNG, with him firmly and publicly supporting liquefied natural gas development in BC.
Eby’s energy minister, Adrian Dix, says the natural gas industry in BC ‘is facing a period of extraordinary opportunity.’ That, he says, has a role in reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples.
The Greater Vancouver Board of Trade proposes “a comprehensive agenda for economic growth” for BC, including LNG and natural gas — and with a “proactive approach with Indigenous Nations.”
And CEO Stewart Muir of Resource Works says a full LNG sector in BC could mean 100,000 jobs a year — 71,000 of them in BC — plus Indigenous benefits, and billions in government revenue and GDP.
But there are concerns about what Canada plans for the future:
- Dave McKay, Royal Bank of Canada CEO, says Canada needs to overcome fears on big energy projects: “We need to move forward and get these things approved.”
- And Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel says Canada is falling behind in the energy race, with projects stalled and the permitting process a quagmire. “We should make the most of our resource bounty.”
The LNG carrier Gaslog Glasgow leaving Kitimat with LNG Canada’s first export cargo, on 30 June 2025
(posted here 14 October 2025)
