Quebec LNG plan in trouble

Gary Park

The anti-LNG sentiment shows signs of spilling over the border from the United States into Quebec.

The tiny village of Beaumont on the St. Lawrence River may have unraveled plans by Enbridge, Quebec gas distributor Gaz Metropolitain and Gaz de France for the C$700 million Rabaska project.

Enbridge Chief Executive Officer Patrick Daniel conceded Oct. 26 that the plug will be pulled before Christmas if a referendum in Beaumont opposes the development.

The city council of Levis to the west of Beaumont has already voted against plans that would see tankers off-load LNG every six days.

Daniel said the partners failed to make early contact to educate and build confidence among the residents. Because of the “misconceptions” about LNG, “we should have started months earlier” to develop what he described as a favorable bedside manner.

But defeat for Rabaska won’t scuttle the partnership’s ambitions to build a facility to handle 500 million cubic feet per day.

Daniel said several other sites are under consideration and will be approached differently to prevent fear taking hold among the affected residents.

If Rabaska is derailed there won’t be any sorrow in TransCanada, Enbridge’s chief energy pipeline competitor in Canada. Along with Petro-Canada, TransCanada is pushing ahead with a proposed C$660 million receiving terminal near the village of Gros Cacouna, about 120 miles northeast of Quebec City.

TransCanada Chief Executive Officer Hal Kvisle said “we’re optimistic we can get (Gros Cacouna) to the finish line to meet the growing hunger for gas in the northeastern United States. Dismissing any talk of a rivalry, he said the markets could absorb gas from both the TransCanada and Enbridge ventures.