22 June 2013 – ExxonMobil applied on Thursday to export up to 30 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas from the western Canadian province of British Columbia, according to regulatory documents.
The US supermajor, which controls Imperial Oil and WWC LNG, said a plant to be built in the Kitimat and Prince Rupert area will process up to 1.46 trillion cubic feet of natural gas for a 25-year term.
“The LNG terminal will be designed to take delivery of natural gas primarily from the Western Canada sedimentary basin and liquefy it for export to markets outside China,” the filing submitted Thursday says, adding that an exact site has not been selected.
Western British Columbia is emerging as a hotspot for LNG in Canada, which has ample feedstock and a clear shot across the Pacific to hungry markets in Asia.
Among other players, Malaysia state oil firm Petronas said it plans to spend up to $20 million on its Pacific Northwest LNG proposal, which could export as much as 18 million tonnes per annum in three trains in the region with initial startup targeted for as soon as 2018.
ExxonMobil holds 340,000 shale acres in western Canada’s Horn River basin where it believes there are significant gas resources to be exploited.
Shell Canada and its partners are amid an environmental study for a $3.85 billion proposal also on the country’s western coast.
In the US, ExxonMobil is working with Qatar Petroleum to advance an export proposal from the Golden Pass facility in Texas, among the more than 20 projects queued up with regulators for potential clearance.
Among other LNG projects, ExxonMobil also operates LNG trains in Qatar.
*Kathrine Schmidt, Upstreamonline
