Kitimat LNG plans liquefied natural gas EXPORT terminal
Irony: Just want to point out before you get too far, that for years, and up until a few minutes ago, Kitimat LNG has been planning to import LNG to North America. But as of today, it is planning to export gas from North America. Subtle difference.
How the world turns. It was only ten years ago that the PAC-RIM LNG Project was pitching an LNG export facility from Kitimat. And in the late 1970s a group including Dome Petroleum proposed Kitimat's first LNG export facility. That project collapsed along with world energy prices in the 1980s.
http://tinyurl.com/4yf8mv
http://tinyurl.com/46s28y
Investors in LNG schemes in British Columbia might be well advised to think about shell games before laying out any more cash. Just sayin'.
Investors can find the pea under the shell in the paragraph below that begins,"The decision was made in part because Kitimat LNG couldn't secure import supplies" Right so far. The rest of the paragraph is corporate spin - "... what the company believes ..."
Facts vs Faith. What are you going to invest in, folks?
Note carefully Ms. Bolton's statement that "The change will quadruple the capital cost to over $3 billion." Actually, the cost filed with the BC Environmental Assessment Office was $500 million - so, six times the cost, right?
And how convincing are these statements from Ms. Bolton: "We've certainly done our homework on this. We wouldn't go into this without a solid base of information.”?
Import. Export. Not a challenging distinction, if you've done your homework. You'd think you'd get that not-so-tiny detail resolved at the get-go.
What's the difference between a LNG tanker going west and a LNG tanker going east? Either is still an unacceptable risk. No homework required.
Kitimat LNG plans liquefied natural gas export terminal to meet growing demand in Asia
Expanding supplies of natural gas in Western Canada drive proposal
News Release, Kitimat LNG
CALGARY, September 19, 2008
Kitimat LNG Inc. announced today that it plans to develop an LNG export terminal near Kitimat, B.C. on its existing site at Bish Cove.
Rising natural gas demand in Asia and recent increases in supply throughout North America – including in the U.S., Canada’s traditional export market – have led to significantly higher natural gas prices in Asia than North America. These market and pricing conditions provide a compelling opportunity for companies looking to export LNG from North America to Asia.
“Kitimat continues to be a viable and advantageous location to build a West Coast LNG terminal,” said Rosemary Boulton, President of Kitimat LNG. “The growing economies of the Pacific Rim and rapidly increasing demand for LNG make Asia a natural market for B.C.’s plentiful and expanding supplies of natural gas. Kitimat is close to Asian markets and an extensive pipeline network already connects B.C. gas suppliers to the Kitimat area.”
The fundamental changes altering the global natural gas market have made Kitimat LNG’s proposal to export LNG more viable than an earlier proposal to import LNG to North America through a regasification terminal located in Bish Cove.
“Delays and cancellations of several LNG liquefaction terminals have caused major LNG shortfalls globally. Regasification terminals in North America are underutilized. At the same time, the trend away from coal is accelerating and demand for clean burning gas has never been stronger,” said Ilene Schmaltz, Vice President, Supply Marketing, Kitimat LNG. “These long-term trends create opportunities for stable sources of natural gas supply to take advantage of high demand in Pacific Rim markets."
The export plan provides a number of benefits for the Province of B.C., the Haisla First Nation, the District of Kitimat, and the local region:
* The project will create direct and indirect economic benefits for northern B.C.
* Construction jobs under this proposal will increase to 1,500 from 700 in the import proposal, and permanent jobs will increase to 100 from 50.
* The project will help diversify the regional economy and increase the use of local personnel, goods and services.
* First Nations will gain jobs, training and capacity-building for their communities.
“The Haisla First Nation offers its full support to Kitimat LNG and its new LNG export proposal,” said Haisla Chief Counsellor Steve Wilson. “Our community has much to offer to the proposed terminal, and we look forward to the employment and skills training a new LNG terminal would provide.”
Kitimat has entered into a memorandum of understanding with a leading multinational corporation that is currently conducting a feasibility study to participate in the project.
Kitimat LNG’s previous import proposal received all regulatory, environmental and government approvals, and the company will work with all levels of government on approvals, processes and permitting for the export proposal.
There are no additional environmental impacts resulting from a change in use to a liquefaction terminal from a regasification terminal. The amount of space the terminal would require remains constant, and the number of vessels moving in and out of the terminal also remains the same.
-30-
For more information or to arrange interviews, contact Ian Noble at 604-623-3007 (office) or 604-809-9650 (cell), or call Kitimat LNG at 250-279-0224 or 604-999-9058.
http://www.kitimatlng.com/code/navigate.asp?Id=32
LNG plant would tap Asian market
Dan Healing
Calgary Herald
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The Calgary developer of an oft-postponed liquid natural gas import terminal at Kitimat, B.C., has reversed course and now plans to build a $3-billion LNG export facility to take advantage of high demand in Asia.
The terminal would give natural gas producers in Western Canada a market outside of North America for the first time and fulfil a dream touted by politicians and developers alike for decades.
"The market really did change in two different ways," said Kitimat LNG Inc. president Rosemary Boulton, explaining the company's 180-degree change of direction in a phone interview from Vancouver on Friday.
"The LNG market, there have been delays in some liquefaction projects on a global basis . . . and also there's been quite a resurgence of natural gas within the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin."
The change will quadruple the capital cost to over $3 billion for a 3.5-million to five-million-
tonne per year liquefaction terminal from the previous $700-million, seven-million-tonne per year regasification import terminal proposal.
The terminal would liquefy natural gas from the Western Canada market by cooling it to -160 C, reducing the volume by more than 600 times and allowing it to be transported by ship to markets all over the world.
Commodities analyst Martin King of FirstEnergy Capital Corp. said LNG is commanding a premium over the New York price of at least $10 per million British thermal units in Asia.
"On a global scale there is a view that LNG prices are going to remain very attractive," he said. "The best prices are being found in Asia. . . . on some deals the differentials have been as high as $15."
He said some delayed LNG projects internationally will come on-stream in the next year or so but growth in demand will likely still outstrip growth in supply.
Boulton said Kitimat LNG, owned by privately held Galveston LNG Inc., will spend the next year seeking commitments from producers and consumers as a condition for approving the project. If construction started in early 2010, it could open by 2013, she said.
Greg Stringham, vice-president with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said obtaining producer commitments has been a problem with previous gas export proposals.
"Export LNG facilities were looked at back in the '70s and looked at again in the '80s. The challenge has always been the capital costs are relatively high," he said.
Stringham said shale gas projects in northeastern B.C. and the United States are offsetting a steady decline in conventional North American natural gas production. He said studies suggest output will remain flat for the next decade or so.
EnCana Corp. spokesman Alan Boras said that, as Canada's largest natural gas producer, the company is always looking for new markets. But he could not say whether it would support the Kitimat LNG proposal.
The terminal would be built on the same footprint as the original proposal at Bish Cove, 15 kilometres north of the Port of Kitimat, and would include docking facilities.
The terminal is not the only stalled project involving Kitimat to recently be resurrected -- Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. has recently been seeking shipper commitments for its delayed $4.2-billion Gateway oil pipeline from Edmonton to Kitimat.
That project, too, would be aimed at Asian markets.
dhealing@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2008
Kitimat LNG plans gas export facility
DAVID EBNER
Globe and Mail
September 19, 2008
VANCOUVER — Kitimat LNG Inc. wants to build a $3-billion facility to export natural gas to Asia, a reversal of its plans to construct a $700-million operation to import liquefied natural gas.
The decision was made in part because Kitimat LNG couldn't secure import supplies and also because the company believes Canadian gas production will increase because of large new discoveries in northeastern British Columbia.
While this is not a widely held prediction, some analysts do say Canadian producers would be interested in a second market for their product, especially because gas prices in places such as Japan are more than double than here.
“We've certainly done our homework on this,” said Rosemary Boulton, president of Kitimat LNG. “We wouldn't go into this without a solid base of information.”
The immediate outlook is negative for supply. In a report this week, brokerage FirstEnergy Capital Corp. said “the current pace of drilling is simply insufficient to prevent more production declines from occurring” in Western Canada.
The Kitimat LNG project would be located near Kitimat, B.C., and open in 2013 if all goes well.
Liquid Natural Gas plant proposed for Kitimat
Gordon Hamilton
Vancouver Sun
Friday, September 19, 2008
British Columbia's expanding natural gas supplies, coupled with growing demand for gas in Asia, prompted Kitimat LNG to announce Friday it plans to build a liquid natural gas export terminal at Kitimat, dropping previous plans for an import terminal.
The global natural gas market has changed fundamentally, the Calgary-based company said in announcing its reversal. The export proposal is now more viable than importing liquid natural gas.
"Kitimat continues to be a viable and advantageous location to build a West Coast LNG terminal," Rosemary Boulton, president of Kitimat LNG, said in a news release. "The growing economies of the Pacific Rim and rapidly increasing demand for LNG make Asia a natural market for B.C.'s plentiful and expanding supplies of natural gas.
"Kitimat is close to Asian markets and an extensive pipeline network already connects B.C. gas suppliers to the Kitimat area."
The import proposal has already received all regulatory, environmental and government approvals, the company said, adding there are no additional environmental impacts associated with building a liquefaction terminal rather than a regasification terminal.
The proposed plant will cool natural gas to -160 degrees Celsius so it can be transported by ship to Asian markets.
LNG terminals are controversial. A plan by another Calgary company, WestPac LNG Corp., for a liquid natural gas plant on Texada Island has run into opposition from community and environmental groups who do not want LNG being shipped through Georgia Strait.
Kitimat LNG is one of four pipeline and port expansion projects that have been announced for the north by gas and pipeline companies.
The Kitimat proposal has the support of the Prince Rupert and Kitimat mayors as well as the chief of the Haisla First Nation.
ghamilton@vancouversun.com
© Vancouver Sun 2008
How the world turns. It was only ten years ago that the PAC-RIM LNG Project was pitching an LNG export facility from Kitimat. And in the late 1970s a group including Dome Petroleum proposed Kitimat's first LNG export facility. That project collapsed along with world energy prices in the 1980s.
http://tinyurl.com/4yf8mv
http://tinyurl.com/46s28y
Investors in LNG schemes in British Columbia might be well advised to think about shell games before laying out any more cash. Just sayin'.
Investors can find the pea under the shell in the paragraph below that begins,"The decision was made in part because Kitimat LNG couldn't secure import supplies" Right so far. The rest of the paragraph is corporate spin - "... what the company believes ..."
Facts vs Faith. What are you going to invest in, folks?
Note carefully Ms. Bolton's statement that "The change will quadruple the capital cost to over $3 billion." Actually, the cost filed with the BC Environmental Assessment Office was $500 million - so, six times the cost, right?
And how convincing are these statements from Ms. Bolton: "We've certainly done our homework on this. We wouldn't go into this without a solid base of information.”?
Import. Export. Not a challenging distinction, if you've done your homework. You'd think you'd get that not-so-tiny detail resolved at the get-go.
What's the difference between a LNG tanker going west and a LNG tanker going east? Either is still an unacceptable risk. No homework required.
Kitimat LNG plans liquefied natural gas export terminal to meet growing demand in Asia
Expanding supplies of natural gas in Western Canada drive proposal
News Release, Kitimat LNG
CALGARY, September 19, 2008
Kitimat LNG Inc. announced today that it plans to develop an LNG export terminal near Kitimat, B.C. on its existing site at Bish Cove.
Rising natural gas demand in Asia and recent increases in supply throughout North America – including in the U.S., Canada’s traditional export market – have led to significantly higher natural gas prices in Asia than North America. These market and pricing conditions provide a compelling opportunity for companies looking to export LNG from North America to Asia.
“Kitimat continues to be a viable and advantageous location to build a West Coast LNG terminal,” said Rosemary Boulton, President of Kitimat LNG. “The growing economies of the Pacific Rim and rapidly increasing demand for LNG make Asia a natural market for B.C.’s plentiful and expanding supplies of natural gas. Kitimat is close to Asian markets and an extensive pipeline network already connects B.C. gas suppliers to the Kitimat area.”
The fundamental changes altering the global natural gas market have made Kitimat LNG’s proposal to export LNG more viable than an earlier proposal to import LNG to North America through a regasification terminal located in Bish Cove.
“Delays and cancellations of several LNG liquefaction terminals have caused major LNG shortfalls globally. Regasification terminals in North America are underutilized. At the same time, the trend away from coal is accelerating and demand for clean burning gas has never been stronger,” said Ilene Schmaltz, Vice President, Supply Marketing, Kitimat LNG. “These long-term trends create opportunities for stable sources of natural gas supply to take advantage of high demand in Pacific Rim markets."
The export plan provides a number of benefits for the Province of B.C., the Haisla First Nation, the District of Kitimat, and the local region:
* The project will create direct and indirect economic benefits for northern B.C.
* Construction jobs under this proposal will increase to 1,500 from 700 in the import proposal, and permanent jobs will increase to 100 from 50.
* The project will help diversify the regional economy and increase the use of local personnel, goods and services.
* First Nations will gain jobs, training and capacity-building for their communities.
“The Haisla First Nation offers its full support to Kitimat LNG and its new LNG export proposal,” said Haisla Chief Counsellor Steve Wilson. “Our community has much to offer to the proposed terminal, and we look forward to the employment and skills training a new LNG terminal would provide.”
Kitimat has entered into a memorandum of understanding with a leading multinational corporation that is currently conducting a feasibility study to participate in the project.
Kitimat LNG’s previous import proposal received all regulatory, environmental and government approvals, and the company will work with all levels of government on approvals, processes and permitting for the export proposal.
There are no additional environmental impacts resulting from a change in use to a liquefaction terminal from a regasification terminal. The amount of space the terminal would require remains constant, and the number of vessels moving in and out of the terminal also remains the same.
-30-
For more information or to arrange interviews, contact Ian Noble at 604-623-3007 (office) or 604-809-9650 (cell), or call Kitimat LNG at 250-279-0224 or 604-999-9058.
http://www.kitimatlng.com/code/navigate.asp?Id=32
LNG plant would tap Asian market
Dan Healing
Calgary Herald
Saturday, September 20, 2008
The Calgary developer of an oft-postponed liquid natural gas import terminal at Kitimat, B.C., has reversed course and now plans to build a $3-billion LNG export facility to take advantage of high demand in Asia.
The terminal would give natural gas producers in Western Canada a market outside of North America for the first time and fulfil a dream touted by politicians and developers alike for decades.
"The market really did change in two different ways," said Kitimat LNG Inc. president Rosemary Boulton, explaining the company's 180-degree change of direction in a phone interview from Vancouver on Friday.
"The LNG market, there have been delays in some liquefaction projects on a global basis . . . and also there's been quite a resurgence of natural gas within the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin."
The change will quadruple the capital cost to over $3 billion for a 3.5-million to five-million-
tonne per year liquefaction terminal from the previous $700-million, seven-million-tonne per year regasification import terminal proposal.
The terminal would liquefy natural gas from the Western Canada market by cooling it to -160 C, reducing the volume by more than 600 times and allowing it to be transported by ship to markets all over the world.
Commodities analyst Martin King of FirstEnergy Capital Corp. said LNG is commanding a premium over the New York price of at least $10 per million British thermal units in Asia.
"On a global scale there is a view that LNG prices are going to remain very attractive," he said. "The best prices are being found in Asia. . . . on some deals the differentials have been as high as $15."
He said some delayed LNG projects internationally will come on-stream in the next year or so but growth in demand will likely still outstrip growth in supply.
Boulton said Kitimat LNG, owned by privately held Galveston LNG Inc., will spend the next year seeking commitments from producers and consumers as a condition for approving the project. If construction started in early 2010, it could open by 2013, she said.
Greg Stringham, vice-president with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said obtaining producer commitments has been a problem with previous gas export proposals.
"Export LNG facilities were looked at back in the '70s and looked at again in the '80s. The challenge has always been the capital costs are relatively high," he said.
Stringham said shale gas projects in northeastern B.C. and the United States are offsetting a steady decline in conventional North American natural gas production. He said studies suggest output will remain flat for the next decade or so.
EnCana Corp. spokesman Alan Boras said that, as Canada's largest natural gas producer, the company is always looking for new markets. But he could not say whether it would support the Kitimat LNG proposal.
The terminal would be built on the same footprint as the original proposal at Bish Cove, 15 kilometres north of the Port of Kitimat, and would include docking facilities.
The terminal is not the only stalled project involving Kitimat to recently be resurrected -- Calgary-based Enbridge Inc. has recently been seeking shipper commitments for its delayed $4.2-billion Gateway oil pipeline from Edmonton to Kitimat.
That project, too, would be aimed at Asian markets.
dhealing@theherald.canwest.com
© The Calgary Herald 2008
Kitimat LNG plans gas export facility
DAVID EBNER
Globe and Mail
September 19, 2008
VANCOUVER — Kitimat LNG Inc. wants to build a $3-billion facility to export natural gas to Asia, a reversal of its plans to construct a $700-million operation to import liquefied natural gas.
The decision was made in part because Kitimat LNG couldn't secure import supplies and also because the company believes Canadian gas production will increase because of large new discoveries in northeastern British Columbia.
While this is not a widely held prediction, some analysts do say Canadian producers would be interested in a second market for their product, especially because gas prices in places such as Japan are more than double than here.
“We've certainly done our homework on this,” said Rosemary Boulton, president of Kitimat LNG. “We wouldn't go into this without a solid base of information.”
The immediate outlook is negative for supply. In a report this week, brokerage FirstEnergy Capital Corp. said “the current pace of drilling is simply insufficient to prevent more production declines from occurring” in Western Canada.
The Kitimat LNG project would be located near Kitimat, B.C., and open in 2013 if all goes well.
Liquid Natural Gas plant proposed for Kitimat
Gordon Hamilton
Vancouver Sun
Friday, September 19, 2008
British Columbia's expanding natural gas supplies, coupled with growing demand for gas in Asia, prompted Kitimat LNG to announce Friday it plans to build a liquid natural gas export terminal at Kitimat, dropping previous plans for an import terminal.
The global natural gas market has changed fundamentally, the Calgary-based company said in announcing its reversal. The export proposal is now more viable than importing liquid natural gas.
"Kitimat continues to be a viable and advantageous location to build a West Coast LNG terminal," Rosemary Boulton, president of Kitimat LNG, said in a news release. "The growing economies of the Pacific Rim and rapidly increasing demand for LNG make Asia a natural market for B.C.'s plentiful and expanding supplies of natural gas.
"Kitimat is close to Asian markets and an extensive pipeline network already connects B.C. gas suppliers to the Kitimat area."
The import proposal has already received all regulatory, environmental and government approvals, the company said, adding there are no additional environmental impacts associated with building a liquefaction terminal rather than a regasification terminal.
The proposed plant will cool natural gas to -160 degrees Celsius so it can be transported by ship to Asian markets.
LNG terminals are controversial. A plan by another Calgary company, WestPac LNG Corp., for a liquid natural gas plant on Texada Island has run into opposition from community and environmental groups who do not want LNG being shipped through Georgia Strait.
Kitimat LNG is one of four pipeline and port expansion projects that have been announced for the north by gas and pipeline companies.
The Kitimat proposal has the support of the Prince Rupert and Kitimat mayors as well as the chief of the Haisla First Nation.
ghamilton@vancouversun.com
© Vancouver Sun 2008
posted by Friend of Texada at
5:16 PM
