LNG - Fracking

Temperatures are soaring, the province is on fire and Premier Christy Clark has called a rare summer sitting of the legislature.

One hopes our government would call an emergency sitting to address the health and economic crisis facing B.C. communities as a result of climate change-induced water shortages and wildfire.

Photo: Demonstrators took to the land and sea last week to protest the prospect of an LNG plant near Squamish. (Photo by Tim Turner.)

When Christy Clark ran for election in 2013, she promised that developing B.C.’s liquefied natural gas industry would help pay off provincial debt, and in time, generate 100,000 jobs and $1 trillion in economic activity.

Last month, her government announced a rare summer recall of the legislature to pass a law that would enable the province’s first LNG project, a special session that began today.

The Project Development Agreement between the BC Government and the (Petronas-led) Pacific North West LNG LP was released to the public on July 6 at: http://ow.ly/PfXxd .

VICTORIA — The B.C. Liberals released details Monday of their proposal to compensate liquefied natural gas developers on a-dollar-for-dollar basis if future changes in provincial taxes and regulations specifically target the LNG sector.

CALGARY - A multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas project led by Royal Dutch Shell was given the environmental go-ahead on Wednesday, subject to dozens of conditions.

The LNG Canada project — planned for Kitimat — obtained the blessing of both the federal and British Columbia governments following a streamlined review process.

The federal government has decided the environmental impacts of the LNG Canada project are justified in the circumstances, Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq said in a release.

Opposition leader and NDP were supportive initially, but their concerns have increased as more details emerge.

VICTORIA — With the B.C. Liberals preparing to recall the legislature to approve a project development agreement for liquefied natural gas, Opposition leader John Horgan is signalling that the New Democrats will likely be voting no.

Photo: Kevin Washbrook of Votors Taking Action on Climate Change

Up to 120 LNG tankers a year could ply the south arm of the Fraser River after a U.S. company secured a licence to export LNG from a facility on Tilbury Island in Delta.

The National Energy Board of Canada approved the plan on May 7.

In one of the gloomiest forecasts yet for British Columbia’s nascent LNG sector, the International Energy Agency says prospects for export projects have ‘darkened’ and deferrals are likely.
 

In a five-year outlook on global demand for natural gas published Thursday, the Paris-based agency throws cold water on the B.C. government’s hopes of being home to three liquefied natural gas projects by 2020.

Up to 120 LNG tankers a year could ply the south arm of the Fraser River after a U.S. company secured a licence to export LNG from a facility on Tilbury Island in Delta.

The National Energy Board of Canada approved the plan on May 7.

“It’s the first I’ve heard of this,” said MP Fin Donnelly (New Westminster-Coquitlam-Port Moody), the NDP critic for West Coast fisheries and oceans.

Almost six months after the B.C. government approved construction of the Site C dam, BC Hydro is still waiting for the province to issue the dozens of permits needed before shovels can touch the ground.

The permits have been held up because the province needs to conduct “meaningful consultation” with the Treaty 8 Tribal Association on the hydroelectric project.