Shell’s New $40 Billion Mega Project: The Actual Impact It Will Have On Canada
In a Tuesday morning press conference, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and BC Premier John Horgan announced the start of a brand new infrastructure project with oil and gas company Royal Dutch Shell Plc. and its partners.
To call it ambitious is an understatement - according to Bloomberg, it is slated to be the largest infrastructure project Canada’s ever seen. A total of $40 billion CAD will be invested in the project over the next several years.
$40B LNG project in northern B.C. gets go-ahead https://t.co/KdMXcOPXnM pic.twitter.com/apnBpUOsQ4
Essentially, the project by LNG Canada is to improve Canada’s resources for liquefied natural gas by carving out a new route to Asia. The massive investment rests on the assumption that China will be replacing much of its coal use with natural gas. This is all aimed at clearing pollution and reducing carbon emissions.
With the new project, cargoes will be able to travel from Kitimat, BC to Tokyo in a matter of about eight days. This is compared to the 20 days it takes from the US Gulf.
Report LNG investment for Kitimat has been approved puts B.C. government on shaky ground https://t.co/NUedEksoCm pic.twitter.com/odpeNPcyia
In their own statement, TransCanada Corp. says they will move forward with a $6.2 billion Coastal Gaslink pipeline. The line will range 676 kilometres to carry gas from BC to LNG Canada for export.
While the project is said to help China combat pollution and carbon emissions, the BC Green Party is pointing out the same can't be said for Canada. They've stated that the project will be a massive new source for greenhouse gases and threaten the province's climate change goals.
But, for BC, the new project could mean $22 billion in revenue to the economy over the next 40 years. Thousands of jobs for local workers will also come available in construction and operation of the plant as well as the natural gas pipeline.
We're giving the green light to invest in @LNGCanada. Hear from our Gas & New Energies director Maarten Wetselaar why this is the right project 🇨🇦 in the right place 📍at the right time ⌚ #LNG pic.twitter.com/RSjjDaUtQw
LNG expects to start supplying customers with natural gas by 2025. Shell is predicting LNG demand will double by 2035. There’s no doubt that the BC economy just hit the jackpot.
Source: Bloomberg, Vancouver Sun
