Proponents of a second natural gas export terminal in Prince Rupert were in town this week meeting with local government officials about the project.
Tessa Gill, Petronas’ LNG stakeholder manager, met with district officials in Port Edward, city officials in Prince Rupert and the Prince Rupert Port Authority on Thursday.
“We want… to talk to everyone and inform people about the project,” Gill said.
The Petronas-Progress LNG Project is still in its early stages, however the site Petronas and the Progress Energy Resources Corporation are looking at is on Lelu Island near Port Edward.
The project is currently in the feasibility stage with the study expected to be complete in a few weeks. Once Petronas moves on to the preliminary front end engineering design (pre-FEED) stage they will start designing the terminal.
In the fall, Petronas and Progress will be holding a series of open houses in the region where they will collect the public’s feedback.
“We are very hopeful that there will be a positive response to our project. We’re very experienced with building LNG terminals and we have a lot of experience in LNG world-wide,” she said, adding the company has a good safety record.
Gill estimates that the project could potentially create 200 to 300 permanent jobs and 3,000 to 3,500 temporary jobs in the construction phase.
“Overall, the total project will bring growth and prosperity to B.C.” Gill said.
“This is our first project in a joint venture partnership in Canada.”
Construction of the terminal could start as early as 2015, with the estimated completion in 2019.
BG Group announced earlier this year that they were also performing a feasibility study to create a terminal on Ridley Island, and have partnered with the Spectra Energy Corporation to create the gas line. Gill said two LNG terminals operating in the area would be feasible.