A third LNG terminal proposal is now officially on the books for the Prince Rupert area.
Premier Christy Clark announced the signing of a sole proponent agreement with Aurora LNG — a partnership between Nexen Energy, INPEX Corporation and JGC Corporation — for an LNG terminal at the Grassy Point area across from Lax Kw'alaams. The agreement calls for Aurora LNG to pay $12 million to the province now and $12 million one year from now for exclusive rights to develop on 614.9 hectares of land on the northern part of Grassy Point and 158.7 hectares of foreshore.
"We intend to do everything we can to responsibly and safely move forward with an LNG terminal at Grassy point ... while today is a significant milestone, it is important to remember that it is the first step in a lengthy process that will include a rigorous environmental assessment and extensive community consultations," said Nexen CEO Kevin Reinhart, noting Nexen's parent company CNOOC Ltd. is one of the largest importers of natural gas to China.
Nexen was one of four companies responding to a Request for Expression of Interest from the province in February, and Premier Clark said the speed with which development at Grassy Point is moving ahead shows the viability of the LNG industry.
"China is looking at reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 93 megatonnes ... they have a pretty ambitious goal and cannot get their without natural gas. Japan has a 30 per cent energy deficit to fill as they move away from nuclear power, and they cannot get there without LNG. When you add it all up, we have an industry for the future," she said, adding faster is better when it comes to LNG development.
"We could have one, two or three terminals operating by 2020. If I had my way we would have five by 2020, but ultimately those are private sector decisions."
Aurora LNG joins the BG Group's proposed terminal on Ridley Island and Pacific NorthWest's LNG proposed terminal on Lelu Island.