LNG Canada is celebrating a notable milestone in their efforts to bring their liquefied natural gas project to fruition in Kitimat.
The company announced last Tuesday that the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission has granted them a facility permit which gives the company the go-ahead on construction and operation based on their technical plans.
This is separate from the provincial government’s environmental review which granted them an environmental certificate last year.
This also does not mean the company has made a final investment decision to actually build the project, merely that it has a key permit in place should they move ahead.
Receiving this permit is notable as well because the company says they are the first LNG project in B.C. which has received such a permit.
“We have made excellent progress in the past two years, achieving a number of critical milestones,” said Andy Calitz, CEO of LNG Canada. “Receiving our LNG Facility Permit could not have been achieved without the important input we received from the Haisla Nation and the local community of Kitimat. We continue to progress our project and appreciate the ongoing support from First Nations, the local community and other stakeholders.”
The permit does include a number of conditions.
We have reviewed these conditions and are confident that we will meet these conditions as they are aligned with LNG Canada’s core safety values and commitment to protect the environment, the community and our workers.”
The conditions include the maximum production levels of the facility, management plans for on-site combustion of waste gas (including notification plans for the surrounding community for any flaring), and noise mitigation, among others.
There are 30 total conditions outlines in the Commission’s permit.
The company says in a release that they are continuing to work with area emergency responders to develop public safety plans.
“Safety is our first priority. Safety as it relates to people and the environment is embedded into the design and planning of our proposed facility, and will carry into the construction and operation phases of our project should the project go ahead,” said Calitz.
The company says that since 2012 they’ve handed out more than $1 million to community initiatives which include emergency services.
The company says they still have to finalize their engineering and cost estimates for the project, deal with labour supply and some further regulatory approvals before a final investment decision can be made.