The expansion includes construction and commissioning of two additional LNG processing units, known as trains; an additional LNG storage tank, condensate tank, loading berth and expanded utility and process systems. LNG Canada says the expansion will enhance processing, storage and shipping capabilities to meet growing global demand for reliable LNG, particularly in Asian market—potentially generating more than $50 billion in government revenue over the life of the project.

“We are building our strength at home, securing new trade partners abroad, and catalyzing unprecedented levels of new investment in our major projects,” Prime Minister Mark Carney said in a statement, adding as a swipe at his country’s fractured relationship with the U.S. generated by new tariffs and amplified rhetoric from President Donald Trump. “That is what an energy superpower looks like when it decides to act like one.”

His statement comes as Canada works to lessen its longtime dependence on the U.S. export market, focusing instead on serving east Asian countries that would yield greater annual revenue and building its global profile as an energy provider.

Next Generation Energy

Located on British Columbia’s North Coast about 140 miles southeast of the province’s border with the Alaskan peninsula, the LNG Canada site benefits from access to abundant natural gas resources and an ice‑free deepwater harbor at the edge of the Douglas Channel. 

Separately, LNG Canada and Alberta-based TC Energy have agreed to expand the existing 670-km Coastal GasLink pipeline, which connects the Kitimat plant with northeastern British Columbia’s natural gas fields. To be managed by both companies, the project will double the pipeline’s current 2.1-billion-cubic-feet-per day capacity through the addition of five new compressor stations and upgrades to facilities along the route. The firms did not release an estimated cost for the line expansion.

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While no date has been announced for full LNG Canada construction to begin, Fluor/JCG received a limited notice to proceed this June, following their completion of front-end design and engineering analysis for Phase 2. LNG Canada projects the Kitimat plant will be operating at its full 28-million-ton-per-year production capacity in the early 2030s.

In a move aimed to further boost Canada’s standing as a global energy provider, Carney has designated the proposed West Coast Pacific Link oil pipeline as the first “project of national interest” under the country’s Building Canada Act. 

According to Carney’s Oct. 1 announcement, the designation fast-tracks environmental assessments and other approvals for the 1,200-km connection between southern Alberta and British Columbia’s Vancouver-area refineries, with an eye toward beginning construction by fall 2027 and full operation by 2033. 

Cost estimates for the project have ranged upward of nearly $31 billion.

The Alberta government and the federally owned Trans Mountain Corp. would each own 45% of the pipeline. Pembina Pipeline Corp. based in Calgary, Alberta would own a 10% stake through the construction phase.

Along with adding another resource to Canada's petroleum export portfolio, Carney’s action is seen as a means to encourage Alberta residents to vote against a non-binding measure calling on the provincial government to begin the legal process of separating from Canada.

That referendum is scheduled for Oct. 19.