Ksi Lisims LNG now officially owns the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline project and is ramping up to begin construction by the end of August.
The partnership between the Nisga'a Nation and Calgary-based Western LNG has proposed a floating LNG liquefaction facility adjacent to Pearse Island north of Gingolx. In March, they announced they had struck a deal with TC Energy for the pipeline project that, if completed, will transport natural gas from northeastern B.C. to the coast.
That deal closed at the end of June.
The PRGT project received its environmental permit from B.C.’s regulatory body in 2014 with a plan to carry natural gas from northeast B.C. to a liquefaction facility in Prince Rupert.
The proposed export facility project, majority-owned by the global energy giant Petronas and planned for Lelu Island within the District of Port Edward, was canned in 2017, but TC Energy applied for and received a five-year extension to its pipeline permit in 2019. That permit expires this year unless the project can show the B.C. Environment Assessment Office (EAO) construction has been “substantially started.”
Ksi Lisims confirmed that the aggressive timeline to start construction is partially based on the EAO requirement for a substantially started status by Nov. 25 of this year.
The other major factor, said Rebecca Scott, a Ksi Lisims spokesperson, is to align with timelines for the liquefaction facility because the pipeline will take much longer to build. The partnership expects to have permits in place for the plant by the end of the year.
The company has contracted Ledcor to be the primary construction manager for the initial phase of construction, which, Scott said, will only be taking place on Nisga'a lands.
“It is key to understand that the work will be happening on Nisga’a Lands only,” she said. “It’s also very important to know that the work does not impact ongoing engagement with other Nations about potential improvements and benefits.”
Nisga’a Nation president Eva Clayton believes all the concerns will be worked out as the projects progress.
“When we announced that we were buying this project, we knew it represented a historic and meaningful step toward independence and opportunity — not just for the Nisga’a, but for all Indigenous people in Canada,” she said. “Our Nation’s objective is to build a meaningful economy at home so future generations can live fulfilling lives in the Nass Valley.”
Ledcor is a major Vancouver-based international construction company that has experience in a broad range of industries.
The roughly 900-kilometre proposed pipeline, beginning in Hudson’s Hope in the Northeast was originally conceived to run across northern B.C. eventually exiting from Nisga’a territory on the coast, then turn south underwater to the proposed Petronas LNG facility near Prince Rupert.
Now, instead of turning south, it would turn north running underwater to the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG floating barge facility.
The company is not overly concerned about permitting for the route change, which requires filing applications to the EAO.
“Amendments are fairly common practices as projects with EA Certificates evolve,” Scott said.
Terms of the deal between TC Energy and the Nisga’a-Western LNG partnership have still not been released, but TC Energy said its initial proceeds are not expected to be “material” to the company. If the project is completed, however, TC Energy could see more returns on the back end.
