The Prince Rupert Port Authority today announced that it is working with a major international firm to potentially bring a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant to the community.
“The Prince Rupert Port Authority has engaged with the BG Group to consider Prince Rupert for a potential LNG export facility. The BG Group is number two in the world in LNG, next to Shell and they are number two depending on what measurements you look at, so they are already a big player in that industry” explained Shaun Stevenson, Vice-president of Marketing and Business Development, noting that the port authority was aware of their interest but the work between the two is a recent development and there is no time line in place for the development at the moment.
“We have an agreement signed to provide them a site and to secure that site to examine the suitability of it and the feasibility of the facility...We have given them a period of time to conduct the feasibility and suitability study, and if it is determined to be viable from the preliminary work that is done then we will look at further development.”
David Byford, spokesman for the BG Group in Houston, confirmed the deal has been signed but cautioned that “feasibility is the key word”.
“Prince Rupert is one of the areas we are looking at, and we are in the very early feasibility study stage,” he said.
“The west coast of Canada is certainly advantageous for LNG export, and there is a lot of natural gas in BC as well.”
The announcement comes while a rail and road corridor is being considered on Ridley Island, and Stevenson says this development is related to the corridor, but is not contingent upon its construction.
With headquarters in the UK, the BG Group has operations in 25 countries over five continents.
“We're excited to be working with the BG Group as they explore the opportunity in Prince Rupert,” said Michael Gurney, Manager of Corporate Communications with the Prince Rupert Port Authority.
“This has the potential to be a very good fit considering the type of cargo LNG is and the type of port Prince Rupert is.”