TotalEnergies has signed on to buy two million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) a year from the future Nisga’a-owned Ksi Lisims LNG facility on the northwest coast. That’s a big step back to Canadian energy for the French energy giant. The Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline, which is key to the Ksi Lisims facility, just got approval from the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office.
This 20-year deal comes after that approval and is a sign that global energy players are keeping their eyes on BC
It is a vindicaiton of the Canadian energy sector given TotalEnergies’ history in Canada. The company, which used to be called Total, had sold off most of its interests in Alberta’s oilsands because of high production costs, uncertain market conditions, and strict carbon reduction targets.
The $9.3 billion write-off it took in 2020 from Alberta’s Fort Hills and Surmont projects, and its exit from the Canadian oilsands by the end of 2023, was a worrying trend of global investors pulling out of Canadian fossil fuels.
But British Columbia is changing that trend. With LNG facilities popping up along its coast, BC is becoming an important link between Canadian energy resources and hungry markets around the world.
The completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion has already had a demonstrably positive impact on Canada’s economy. That’s how dynamic BC’s energy sector is getting, hosting both oil and gas facilities, and producing vast quanitites of the latter.
Ksi Lisims LNG is an example of British Columbia’s move towards more environmentally responsible and Indigenous-led projects. The Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG, and Western LNG all co-own Ksi Lisims LNG. The Nisga’a leaders have always said these are the kind of economic opportunities that their treaty rights allow, and that they want to pursue.
PRGT, which is owned by the Nisga’a Nation and Western LNG, is the result of a lot of work with Indigenous people, investment, and regulatory alignment. It shows energy development can get to the kind of consensus that has been hard to find to recent years.
It comes as part of a bigger shift in the world’s politics and economy. European leaders, like German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, have long desired Canadian LNG to help Europe diversify its energy sources, especially after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Canada has missed out on opportunities in the past because it couldn’t or wouldn’t meet past European demand. For example, projects like Energy East and the expansion of East Coast LNG terminals were stopped or cancelled due to regulatory issues, despite the potential for them to supply Europe with energy.
British Columbia’s LNG projects are at a turning point. The Haisla Nation’s Cedar LNG, the Nisga’a’s Ksi Lisims project, and the Woodfibre LNG development near Squamish have made the province a hot spot for international investment despite the regulatory and environmental challenges.
These projects show Canadian energy exports are possible and desirable. As the world looks for safe, moral, and environmentally friendly sources of LNG, British Columbia has stepped up to the plate. That’s helped revive local economies that were hurt by declining resource industries and put Canada back on the global energy map.
The fact TotalEnergies, Europe’s biggest buyer of North American LNG, is coming back into Canadian resources through British Columbia is a great sign for the future. Its entry into BC’s LNG sector shows the company is becoming more confident in the environmental and economic potential of Canadian energy.
That’s exactly what Canadian energy policy needs for the future: a vision that balances responsible development and the needs of the global market. Canada can finally be a major supplier of cleaner energy to global markets by tapping into British Columbia’s huge LNG potential.
Anyone who was skeptical of the potential for BC LNG to drive us towards a better future had better start paying attention.
