We are regulating Canada’s largest private sector project, the LNG Canada export facility in Kitimat, in the traditional territory of the Haisla Nation. This is a major project linking B.C. to the global liquefied natural gas (LNG) market. Under our mandate, we’re taking a proactive approach to regulation that focuses on responsible energy resource development, protecting public safety, and safeguarding the environment.
“The BC Energy Regulator is committed to ensuring the LNG Canada facility is constructed and operated safely and according to all provincial requirements,” said BCER’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Ken Paulson. “While it is a unique, large-scale project for B.C., over the last number of years we focused on building a safe and responsible regulatory framework to ensure effective oversight of LNG projects. An example would be the creation of the Liquefied Natural Gas Regulation, which sets out the rules for facility construction and operations.”
Our role throughout this project has been to review all applications, ensure regulations are followed and permit conditions are satisfied, conduct compliance and enforcement activities, and making sure the interests and rights of Indigenous peoples and stakeholders are respected and accounted for.
We have inspectors based in our Terrace office who regularly conduct onsite inspections as construction progresses at the Kitimat facility. The facility will consist of LNG liquefaction and storage facilities, marine terminal facilities, and related infrastructure.
This project is the largest of its kind in Canadian history. Given its size and complexity, some of the equipment is being constructed at fabrication yards outside B.C. and Canada. To help ensure equipment constructed overseas meets Canadian construction standards, LNG Canada is using Lloyd’s Register (LR), an experienced, fully independent, third-party verifier. LR has delivered specialist engineering and technology solutions to the maritime and other industries, including oil and gas clients, for more than 260 years.
“Ensuring equipment constructed overseas meets B.C. and Canadian standards is an integral part of our regulatory framework,” said Mayka Kennedy, Executive Vice President and Chief Engineer of the BC Energy Regulator. “As such, the Liquefied Natural Gas Facility Regulation contains the requirements that companies must have an independent third-party verifier to oversee construction activities. We were involved in the selection of LR for the LNG Canada project and have been working closely with them as equipment is constructed and shipped to Canada. Once equipment arrives in Kitimat, our inspectors will be involved to ensure continued safety and compliance.”
Construction of these larger modules is ongoing, and components are shipped to Kitimat according to the construction schedule. June 2021 saw the first shipment from Germany, which was a cryogenic heat exchanger. Shipments are anticipated to continue to come up the Douglas Channel for unloading in Kitimat until fall 2022, with the larger modules expected to arrive from other countries on barges in early fall 2021.
To put into perspective how big some of the modules are, B.C.’s Parliament Building in downtown Victoria, including its dome, is 100 feet tall. The project’s biggest arriving module is the same height.
No matter what the size of the project is, our dedicated team is committed to ensuring safe and responsible energy resource management in B.C.
