Tag: Kitimat

Kitimat fishers, hunters ask NEB for special conditions on KM LNG export licence

The Kitimat Rod and Gun Club Tuesday asked the National Energy Board to place special conditions on the Kitimat LNG project so as, in the words of Rod and Gun representative Mike Langegger, to preserve “the fish and wildlife values of the northwest,” from the “cumulative effects” of industry encroaching on the wilderness. 

The board panel,which is considering the project’s application for a natural gas export licence,  allowed Langegger to testify early in the proceedings, now expected to run at least until Thursday, because he has other commitments.
In response to a specific question from Lynn Mercier, presiding member of the board panel, Langegger asked that the NEB require the KM LNG partners, energy giants Apache, Encana and EOG,  establish a joint committee with Kitimat residents, both First Nations and non-First Nations, to preserve the values of the wilderness around the liguified natural gas terminal.
He also asked that the energy companies create special funding “dedicated to fish, wildlife, and the environment…to maintain the fishing, hunting [and] recreational activities used by residents not just for now but for generations to come.” 
The liquified natural gas terminal is proposed for Bish Cove, down Douglas Channel from Kitimat, an area that is currently still largely wilderness. 
Langegger noted that crucial salmon breeding rivers flow into Bish Cove from the surrounding mountains. Bish Cove is also known as a habitat for deer and bears, both black bears and grizzlies.
He also asked that Kitimat residents continue to have access, as they do now, to the bush surrounding the proposed terminal “with no gates, no lockoffs.” Langegger complained to the board that Rio Tinto Alcan has, in recent years, restricted access to the Kitimat River estuary, near the aluminum plant, while once Kitimat residents had easy entry to the estuary.

382-Mike-LangeggerNEB0607_03.jpg

  
Langegger said that Rod and Gun members and other Kitimat residents fear the cumulative effects of the destruction of the wilderness, and specifically that some of the past practices of the forest industry, which he said had a “huge detrimental effect,” could be compounded by the Kitimat LNG plant and other projects.
 While not referring directly to the proposal, Langegger was bringing in the Enbridge Northern Gateway project, which is being considered in a separate National Energy Board proceeding. 
Lanegger told the NEB panel that he hoped that “the new generation of industries coming [would] accept those values” of fishing, hunting and recreation.
Mike Langegger of the Kitimat Rod and Gun
 club checks his notes while testifying before the NEB. (Robin Rowland/Northwest Coast Energy News)

Apache secures 85% of Kitimat LNG sales (Corrected version)

As the National Energy Board hearings on the Kitimat LNG project opened, a principal owner of the project, Apache Corp is reported to be in final talks to sell up to 85 % of the capacity that could flow through the proposed port.

Bloomberg quoted Perth-based Mate’ Parentich, general manager of LNG marketing at Apache, said at the Asia Oil and Gas Conference in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday “We will offer stakes in upstream, midstream and downstream to buyers,” Parentich said. Shipments may start in 2015.”  Note: Bloomberg later moved a corrected and updated version of the story, noting no contracts have yet been signed.

Reuters quoted  Parentich as saying,  Asian utilities were also interested in buying equity stakes
in the Kitimat project.”We are speaking with the major utilities in the Asian Pacific region,” he said. The LNG will be sold on Japan Crude Cocktail (JCC) prices, he added.

Enhanced by Zemanta

National Energy Board hearings on Kitimat LNG begin, expected to go rest of the week

National Energy Board hearings on the Kitimat LNG project opened Tuesday morning at the Riverlodge Community Centre with the usual legal introductions.

Lawyers for KM LNG asked the panel to postpone some more controversial  issues until Friday, as one of the lawyers said,  “parties were still in discussion” about certain matters.

The panel ruled that they would hear the contentious issues beginning Thursday morning.

Kitimat residents are complaining that the formal panel is  “mystifying,”  compared to the more open and public friendly joint review panel on the Enbridge Northern Gateway proposal last fall.

The current hearings are much more limited than the Enbridge Northern Gateway joint review.   That’s because these hearings are for an export licence only.  The Enbridge hearings are a facility hearing covering the whole project, because the oil sands are in Alberta and that pipeline would cross provincial boundaries.  At the moment, the KM LNG project is entirely within the province of BC and so the only matter under consideration is the export of natural gas.

Lawyers representing one of the KM LNG rivals tried to widen issues in  the morning session, but the NEB panel ruled while there would be some flexibility in questions about the project’s ownership and facilities, those questions had to be specific and narrow and relevant to the export licence.

Like theatregoers fleeing a  bad play at the first interval, many of the Kitimat residents who had shown up left at the first break, leaving the room to the lawyers and executives.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Three pipeline builders race to reach new markets Keystone, TMX and Gateway: Alberta Oil

Alberta Oil 

Pipelines have never been so popular. For years, the steel conduits followed unseen routes. They carried rivers of crude oil beneath city and town alike, rarely drawing so much as a passing thought from those who depended on their valuable cargo. Today, proposals by Kinder Morgan Canada, Enbridge Inc. and TransCanada Corp. face fierce opposition in a bid to carry more Canadian crude oil – chiefly increased oil sands production – to new markets.

Excerpt from Alberta Oil interview with Nlorthern Gateway President John Carruthers

 

The primary markets where we would see the most value are China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. Now once the oil reaches tidewater it can access any market. We would see crude going periodically to different markets. But those four markets in particular have strong demand. The proximity of Canada to those markets and the fact that they can process Canadian crude is all very positive. Potentially the oil could also go to California.

Malaysia buys stake in BC shale, eyes West Coast LNG export terminal

A Canadian energy company, Progress Energy Resources, based in Calgary, has agreed to sell 50 per cent its stake in  a BC shale gas development called North Montney to Malaysia’s state oil firm Petronas  for $1.07 billion Canadian ($1.09 billion US). The two plan to build  an LNG export terminal somewhere on the BC West Coast for the export of liguified natural gas to Malaysia and possibly other parts of Asia.

The Progress news release says:

Petronas and Progress will 
establish an LNG export joint venture (the “LNG Export Joint Venture”) 
to be 80 per cent  [by Petronas] and 20 per cent owned [by Progress], respectively. The LNG Export
 Joint Venture will launch a feasibility study to evaluate building and
operating a new LNG export facility on the West Coast of British
Columbia. Petronas would be the operator of this facility, and Petronas 
and Progress would jointly market the LNG utilizing Petronas’
well-established and extensive network of customers in the largest LNG
markets globally.

 No location was mentioned for the proposed LNG terminal.

In the news release Michael Culbert, President and Chief Executive Officer of Progress was quoted as saying:

“We look forward to working with West Coast British Columbia communities as we pursue this opportunity to build a new facility that will add value to British Columbia’s natural resourceswhile creating considerable long-term local economic benefits.”

Culbert also said in the news release:

 

“This is a breakthrough transaction for Progress: the partnership we are
launching will enable us to accelerate our growth strategy….
”We are very pleased to form this long-term partnership with PETRONAS.
They share our belief that our North Montney shale assets are a
world-class resource that deserves significant investment.  We look 
forward to benefitting from PETRONAS’ significant global expertise
 including their leadership in developing infrastructure and accessing
 LNG markets. As well as enhancing Progress shareholder value, this 
partnership will also generate substantial economic benefits for local
communities and the province of British Columbia, while leveraging the 
environmental benefits of Canada’s abundant and clean-burning natural
 gas resources globally.

This is the first time that Petronas has entered the Canadian energy market, an indication of the growing scramble in Asia for BC oil shale and likely Alberta oil sands.  

Petronas, the national oil and gas company of Malaysia is one of the Fortune Global 500, with oil, gas and petrochemical interests in more than 30 countries. The company calls itself  one of the world’s leading LNG companies and is involved in all parts of the LNG business, from liquefaction and shipping to re-gasification and trading. As well as Malaysia, it has assets in Australia, Egypt and the United Kingdom.

For the public, Petronas is best known as the owner of the giant twin towers that dominate the skyline of Kuala Lumpur.

 Links

Enhanced by Zemanta

Kinder Morgan proposes second Kitimat bitumen pipeline

In a story broken early Thursday, June 2, by the Vancouver website Tyee and confirmed by Northwest Coast Energy news,  another major energy player, Kinder  Morgan is proposing a second pipeline to carry bitumen from the Alberta oil sands to the port of Kitimat.

The proposal was part of a presentation to industry analysts  during a conference on March 24, 2011, with a PDF of the Power Point presentation posted on the Kinder Morgan Website.

The  likely controversial proposal was not picked up by the media until Tyee broke the story.

The presentation says the proposed pipeline is one of several alternatives proposed for the expansion of the existing Kinder Morgan Transmountain Pipeline.  In this scenario the pipeline to Kitimat would branch off from the Transmountain Pipeline go through Prince George and then apparently follow existing pipeline routes to Kitimat and not follow the proposed Enbridge Northern Gateway route.

379-kitimatmap.jpg

The Kinder Morgan presentation says the Transmountain pipeline branch to Kitimat would cost $4 billion, compared to the $5,5 billion that Enbridge has budgeted for the Northern Gateway project.  The Transmountain pipeline would have a capacity of  450 million  barrels a day compared  to the Northern Gateway capacity  of 550 million barrels a day.

Tyee says:

A power point presentation
for investors by Ian Anderson, president of Kinder Morgan Canada Group,
provides a wealth of information that has not been widely shared with
the general public or local governments:

Tyee says Kinder Morgan is also asking the National Energy Board for a immediate jump in the bitumen going through the port of Vancouver

They are also requesting to divert more Alberta crude and bitumen capacity to the Westbridge tanker terminal in Burrard Inlet and away from existing land-based refineries in B.C. and Washington. If approved, this would immediately expand crude capacity through Vancouver from 52,000 bpd to 79,000 bpd — an increase of more than 50 per cent

.

According to the documents seen by Tyee, the Vancouver end of the project would require the dredging of Second Narrows to allow large supertankers to visit the port. Tanker traffic in Vancouver would increase, Tyee says

Tanker transits through Vancouver will increase to 216 per year in 2016, up from 71 in 2010 and 22 in 2005.

All this is being propelled by increasing energy demand from China. It also appears that Kinder Morgan wants to increase the Vancouver capacity because of the delays in the Enbridge Northern Gateway project, which means that Alberta oil patch is seeking new ways to get the raw bitumen to China.

Links
Kinder Morgan Canada presentation on the Kitimat pipeline and the Vancouver port expansion (PDF)

Kinder Morgan application to the National Energy Board (PDF))

Enhanced by Zemanta

Apache names new boss for Kitimat LNG project

Apache Corporation, of Houston, Texas,  the main backer of the Kitimat LNG development announced a management shakeup Tuesday, May 31, including  a new boss for the Kitimat project.

According to a news release issued by Apache, “Graham Lawton was named vice president –
liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects, leading the Kitimat project team
for the LNG facility and Pacific Trail Pipelines.”

Lawton is a new comer to Apache but has 30 years experience in the natural gas industry.
The news release describes Lawton  this way:

Lawton joined Apache in March 2011. He brings 30 years of experience in the gas industry – with 15 years in LNG projects – and has worked in the United Kingdom, United States, Tunisia, Singapore, Trinidad, India and Peru. Prior to joining Apache, Lawton was vice president of LNG at Hunt Oil Co. since 2005 and served as general manager of COLP, the operating company of Peru LNG. Previously, he was operations director at Marathon Oil Co. where he worked for Equatorial Guinea (EG) LNG. Prior to that, he spent more than 20 years with BG Group. Lawton is a fellow of the Institution of Gas Engineers and Managers, a fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and a chartered engineer. Lawton received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Sheffield in England.

PR Newswire release Apache Announces Changes in Operational Leadership

Enhanced by Zemanta

Kitimat LNG Project Granted Extension: 250 News

250 News


Kitimat LNG Project Granted Extension

The proponents of the liquefied natural gas terminal to be built near Kitimat now have more time to start up construction.
  

The Environmental Assessment Office has granted an extension to the Kitimat LNG Operating General Partnership’s environmental assessment certificate. Under the original certificate, substantial construction had to be underway on the LNG terminal by June 1st of this year.

The Kitimat LNG Operating Partnership must now have substantial construction started on the project prior to June 1ST of 2016.

Shell says it’s looking at B.C. Coast for new LNG terminal: Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Sun


Shell says it’s looking at B.C. Coast for new LNG terminal

Shell Canada says it is investigating the potential for a new liquid natural gas terminal to be located on the B.C. coast.

Shell “is interested in, and currently exploring LNG opportunities along the B.C. coast,” Stephen Doolan, of Shell’s media relations department said in an email to The Sun.
“We are early in the evaluation process so do not have specific details but are pursuing opportunities,” he said. “Natural gas is a key area of growth for Shell. In terms of LNG, we will continue to invest in our global leadership position as demand continues to grow

.

No real need for pipeline between oilsands and West Coast: bureaucrat: Vancouver Sun

Vancouver Sun


A multi-billion dollar pipeline project that would link the oilsands region to the coast of British Columbia offers new export capacity that the Canadian industry does not really need, senior bureaucrats have told the federal government… 

 The details of the federal assessment were released in over 300 pages of internal documents from Natural Resources Canada, obtained by Postmedia News, which also noted rising public opposition to Enbridge’s proposed project over concerns about oil spills that could plague pristine natural habitat on land and water — especially in light of recent accidents such as BP’s Gulf Coast well blow-out and an Enbridge crude oil pipeline rupture and leak into the Kalamazoo River in Michigan.

Editor’s note The Sun says Environmental Defence of Toronto filed the original Access To Information request.