LNG terminal for B.C. moves ahead

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Backers of a proposed liquefied natural gas receiving terminal at Kitimat on the British Columbia coast have moved to the next stage of their project.

Pacific Coast Terminal said it will solicit long-term commercial contracts over the next four months to develop the privately funded C$300 million facility.

A spokesman for Calgary-based Galveston LNG told the Financial Post that provided there is support from the community of 10,000, the terminal could be operating by late 2008, handling 340 million cubic feet per day of gas.

The facility is intended to become an energy supply source for the lower mainland of British Columbia and the northwestern United States by importing LNG and feeding the gas into the Pacific Northern Gas pipeline and the Westcoast transmission system.

The proponents expect to borrow about C$200 million and cover the balance of the costs through an equity issue. A regulatory filing could be made this fall.

The Galveston spokesman said choosing the right site is “the most important issue for us,” given the community opposition in February that scuttled plans by TransCanada and ConocoPhillips to build a US$400 million LNG plant in Maine.