Shell’s LNG Canada has received a cargo of liquefied natural gas as part of its commissioning and start-up phase.
On Tuesday, LNG Canada issued a statement confirming receipt of the cargo, stating, “This activity is critical to our safe start-up and commissioning process in advance of our operations, and to achieving our first LNG export cargoes by the middle of 2025.”
The 2017-built Maran Gas Roxana collected the LNG cargo from Shell’s QCLNG plant on Curtis Island near Gladstone, Australia, before traveling to Kitimat.
LNG Canada estimates that unloading the cargo will require three to four weeks. In 2024, the facility received a cargo of refrigerants (liquefied petroleum gas) on the tanker Gaschem Atlantic for cooldown activities.
In August 2024, LNG Canada introduced natural gas to the facility for the first time via the Coastal GasLink pipeline.
The LNG Canada project, representing one of the largest private investments in Canadian history, is designed to initially produce 14 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG for export.
A proposed Phase 2 expansion aims to increase capacity to 28 mtpa. As Canada’s first large-scale LNG export facility, it is operated by Shell, with partners including Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Kogas. JGC Fluor serves as the contractor for the first phase, which includes two liquefaction trains.
Shell, officially Royal Dutch Shell plc, is a global energy company headquartered in London, UK, with origins dating back to 1907 through the merger of Royal Dutch Petroleum and Shell Transport and Trading. It operates in over 70 countries, focusing on oil and gas exploration, production, refining, and LNG projects. Shell is the operator of LNG Canada, holding a 40% stake, and manages assets like the QCLNG plant in Australia, which supplied the cargo for this project.
LNG Canada is a joint venture established to develop and operate a liquefied natural gas export terminal in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada. Formed by five international energy companies—Shell (40%), Petronas (25%), PetroChina (15%), Mitsubishi Corporation (15%), and Kogas (5%)—it is led by Shell and operates through LNG Canada Development Inc. Launched with a final investment decision in 2018, the project is Canada’s first large-scale LNG export facility, targeting an initial capacity of 14 mtpa, with plans for expansion to 28 mtpa.