By Chris Cooper

On a blustery afternoon last week, on the eve of Canada Day, I stood with colleagues and friends at the

LNG Canada

marine terminal in Kitimat, in the traditional territory of the Haisla Nation, and watched with pride as the ocean carrier GasLog Glasgow departed with the first load of liquefied natural gas produced at our brand new, state-of-the art facility.

This first cargo, destined for markets overseas, was a momentous occasion for our company and our five joint venture participants, local communities and First Nations. And indeed, for British Columbia and Canada.

It represented the launch of a new industry in Canada, one that has already provided tens of thousands of jobs for individuals from coast to coast to coast, myriad training and employment opportunities for young workers, economic and social benefits for people and new revenues for governments.

In my current and previous roles at LNG Canada, I’ve been fortunate to see first-hand our project’s positive impacts on local businesses, public infrastructure, hospitals, schools, non-profit organizations. As someone whose career began with an apprenticeship at the age of 16, I’m especially pleased that our direct contributions to date include more than $10 million to workforce development initiatives, and another $13 million to community investments.

Meanwhile, the cumulative value of LNG Canada’s contracts and subcontracts to local, Indigenous and other businesses in B.C. is already approaching $6 billion.

We’re honoured to be at the forefront of this new industry in Canada. Of course, it hasn’t always been easy. As many observers have noted, Canada’s LNG opportunity might have come sooner. As an emerging industry, we’ve encountered numerous challenges, including periods of regulatory uncertainty. Other factors, including our country’s vast geography and rugged terrain, have been met with innovation, grit and determination.

The

Coastal GasLink pipeline

that delivers Canadian

natural gas

to our facility, for example, is 670 kilometres long, and was built across two mountain ranges, across difficult river crossings, over impossibly steep slopes and through avalanche territory. A showcase in collaboration, Coastal GasLink will also transport gas to our neighbours at Cedar LNG, a Haisla-led and majority-owned

LNG

project now under development just down the road from us.

Standing on the jetty last week, watching the first cargo leave, I was reminded that LNG Canada was barely a year into construction when suddenly faced with an unprecedented global pandemic that stretched supply chains, impacted workers and tested capacities. LNG Canada and its valued contractors persevered as a team, and got the job done as a team, safely.

Let’s be clear: Whatever challenges we have faced or may face in the future, we should not forget the natural advantages we enjoy here in Canada.

Designed to produce 14 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) in its initial phase, LNG Canada benefits greatly from our access to abundant, low-cost natural gas from British Columbia’s vast resources; a cool northern climate that optimizes production; a deep water harbour that is ice-free all year; and a shipping distance to markets in Asia that is 50 per cent shorter than from the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and avoids the Panama Canal. Add to this a highly skilled and growing workforce, and an innovative plant design that incorporates aero-derivative gas turbines and receives auxiliary electric power from BC Hydro, and we have a recipe for success.

Our day has arrived, and in many respects, the timing could not be better. The world is hungry for reliable supplies of high quality, responsibly-produced lower carbon energy. Countries around the world want to decarbonize their economies, and they are looking to LNG to help them in their transition. Canada is a respected and stable exporting nation, a good trading partner and a strong alternative to countries with less predictable leadership.

From a Canadian perspective, our nascent LNG industry adds much needed diversity to our export markets. We are also demonstrating — again at a time when it’s really needed — that British Columbians and Canadians are capable of building big things. And we’re capable of doing even more, with more LNG projects in B.C. on the way, and with LNG Canada’s Phase 2 expansion that’s now under consideration.

We see an opportunity to build on our early Phase 1 successes and the benefits it’s already providing First Nations, communities, British Columbians and Canadians. Phase 2 would potentially double our production capacity to 28 mtpa, making LNG Canada one of the world’s largest LNG export facilities by volume. A final investment decision will take into account factors such as overall competitiveness, affordability, pace, future greenhouse gas emissions and stakeholder needs. Our goal is to continue to design, build and operate a world-class facility at scale.

With this trajectory and in continued collaboration with industry colleagues, governments, Canadian crafts and trades, local communities and First Nations, Canada has an exceptionally strong opportunity to become a top-five LNG exporting country. And that would go a long way to help Canada achieve an even more ambitious but attainable goal: to become a world energy superpower.

Chris Cooper is chief executive of LNG Canada