Quebec LNG proposal joins Canada lineup as number four

Gary Park

Petroleum News Calgary correspondent

Canada’s list of candidates for liquefied natural gas terminals has grown to four, with a proposal for Quebec joining those in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and British Columbia.

Robert Tessier, chief executive officer of Quebec utility Gaz Metro, told reporters at a Quebec-New York Economic Summit on May 13 that a C$700 million terminal could open near Quebec City in 2008 with capacity to process 500 million cubic feet per day.

He said Gaz Metro would be one of the buyers from the terminal, with the rest of the gas sold under contract, primarily in the U.S. Northeast.

The partners are Gaz Metro, French government-owned Gaz de France and Canadian pipeline company Enbridge, although Tessier would not say what the breakdown is.

The group is currently meeting with landowners and regulatory authorities, with the hope of filing regulatory applications in 2006, Tessier said.

He said the plant, if it gains community support and regulatory approvals, would be built across the St. Lawrence River from New York state. Gaz de France would secure the gas supplies and build ships to transport it to the terminal.

Enbridge, like Canada’s other major pipeline company TransCanada, views LNG as a natural part of its business and has been on the lookout for opportunities in Canada and the United States.