LNG Canada is gearing up for the peak construction phase at its massive terminal in British Columbia, reiterating its target to start exporting liquefied natural gas to Asia in 2025.

LNG Canada, led by Shell PLC, is the only Canadian project under construction that would export the fuel aboard ocean-bound tankers. In the United States, in sharp contrast, exports of natural gas in liquid form began six years ago and there are now seven major terminals already in operation.

At the peak of construction, from this year through 2024, LNG Canada will require up to 7,500 workers on rotation, with room for 4,500 people at any given time at the on-site accommodation centre in Kitimat, B.C.

Peter Zebedee, chief executive officer of LNG Canada, said the $18-billion terminal is nearly 60 per cent complete and preparing for the busiest phase. “This is a very important year for us, with a pace of construction not seen previously,” he said in a statement.

JGC Fluor BC LNG JV, an engineering joint venture between JGC Corp. and Fluor Corp., is LNG Canada’s prime contractor. Construction of the terminal began in October, 2018, on the Kitimat industrial site that is located on the Haisla Nation’s traditional territory.

The engineering involves both Canadian and global supply chains. Huge modules are being built at China Offshore Oil Engineering Co. Ltd.’s fabrication yard in Qingdao, China. One module more than 10 storeys tall arrived in Kitimat last Thursday.

Smaller modules are being supplied by a fabrication yard in Zhuhai, China, run by a joint venture between Fluor and China National Offshore Oil Corp.

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