On October 30, 2020, Haisla Nation Council reached a milestone with a vote to approve the partnership agreement for the Cedar LNG project with Pacific Traverse Energy (PTE), a Vancouver-based energy infrastructure development company and Delfin Midstream, an LNG export development company specializing in low-cost floating LNG technology, with offices in Houston, TX and Oslo, Norway.
Council’s decision on the project advances this unprecedented opportunity both for the Nation and for the region.
“Council has been ensuring that Haisla members are given an opportunity for success, and that our community continues to grow and prosper,” says Chief Councillor Crystal Smith.
Smith points to the benefits from the LNG industry seen to date even with the LNG Canada project, which saw a final investment decision two years ago, and notes that the positive decision made the Cedar LNG Project feasible.
Cedar LNG will be a floating natural gas liquefaction facility and is aiming to be the first majority Indigenous-owned LNG export facility in Canada, with its majority stake owned by the Haisla Nation.
“A benefit from our LNG Canada project agreement means that the Haisla Nation can exercise an option for capacity on the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which feeds the LNG Canada project. Our Economic Development department have worked hard to secure that capacity to maximize benefits for the Haisla territory,” adds Smith.
Up to 50 LNG carriers a year will moor at the floating liquefaction facility and export LNG to Asian markets. Cedar LNG has already been granted a natural gas export licence by the National Energy Board (now Canadian Energy Regulator).
The Cedar LNG Project will be designed to be consistent with Haisla values, including minimizing effects to the environment. The liquefaction process will be electric-driven and use air cooling technology.
Construction is expected to require between 350 to 500 workers, with a further 70 to 100 jobs available once operational.
Zachary Steele, CEO of PTE, welcomes this opportunity to work with the Haisla Nation.
“We are honored and humbled to partner with Haisla Nation on this historic project. We are excited, through our partnership, to progress the Cedar LNG Project which will create positive generational impacts for the Haisla Nation and the region as a whole,” says Steele.
LNG Canada CEO Peter Zebedee, meanwhile, speaks to the excitement of the decision and its benefits to B.C. at large.
“Today’s Agreement between PTE, Delfin and the Haisla is an exciting opportunity for the Haisla Nation and their partners. These partnerships position the province well to provide security of supply for global markets that need natural gas to fuel their economies, reduce global GHG emissions when natural gas replaces the use of coal, and will help usher in strong economic growth and stability to northern British Columbia communities and all of Canada,” says Zebedee.
The Cedar LNG Project has started the environmental assessment process and is subject to both a provincial environmental assessment and a federal impact assessment. An initial project description is filed with the BC Environmental Assessment Office, and can be viewed at https://www.projects.eao.gov.bc.ca.
Additional information about the Cedar LNG Project will be posted on the Project’s website, www.cedarlng.com, when it becomes available.