Our newsletter of 01 August 2024
Cedar LNG blazes path
“Compared to the nearby $18-billion LNG Canada complex on which it will piggyback, the $5.5-billion Cedar LNG project in Kitimat is small.
“But it’s a very big deal for the Haisla First Nation and, indeed, Indigenous communities generally, as it will be the first multibillion-dollar industrial project built in Canada in which the majority owner is a First Nation.”
Those two paragraphs began a story in Business in Vancouver, which carried the headline ‘Haisla blaze a path for Indigenous industry’
Energy reporter Nelson Bennett went on to write: “It may help blaze a path for another First Nations-backed liquefied natural gas (LNG) project—the Ksi Lisims LNG project near Prince Rupert—which is supported by the Nisga’a First Nation.
“In September, Haisla Chief Crystal Smith will travel to Japan as part of a trade mission organized by Energy for a Secure Future to talk about Cedar LNG and the increasingly important role First Nations are playing in the LNG, resources and energy sectors.”
- Read the full story here: https://ow.ly/Jjrq50SLLRA
- About Cedar LNG: https://ow.ly/4O6f50SLLVC
Meanwhile, the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office invites public input on proposals to reroute the Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline so it can feed gas to the Ksi Lisims project. Deadline is 03 September.
- BCEAO invitation: https://ow.ly/oErV50SLLZm
- The Nisga’a Nation is ramping up to begin construction on the PRGT pipeline by the end of August: https://ow.ly/Uc6y50SGJf3
- About Ksi Lisims LNG: https://ow.ly/fGuZ50SLM09
First Nations get pipeline stake
TC Energy has announced the sale to an Indigenous-owned partnership of a 5.34% stake in the NGTL and Foothills gas pipeline systems in Alberta, B.C., and Saskatchewan, for $1 billion. The Alberta Indigenous Opportunities Corporation is backing the deal.
“This historic partnership will enable up to 72 Indigenous communities closest to the partnership assets to become equity owners in the 25,000-kilometre highly integrated network of natural gas infrastructure assets spanning western Canada.
“Investment in these critical energy assets delivers access to long-term revenue sources that will help create meaningful change for Indigenous communities.”
And: “We anticipate that the Indigenous investors will benefit from this partnership for some years to come,” said Chief Isaac Twinn of Sawridge First Nation, chair of the committee that negotiated the deal.
- TC Energy’s news release: https://ow.ly/A6Gq50SN6ro
Canada a leader in natural gas
Last December, natural-gas production in Canada hit 18.8 billion cubic feet a day. We are the world’s No. 5 producer of natural gas production (behind China, Iran, Russia and the leading U.S.)
For British Columbia, energy is the No. 1 source of export earnings. Energy is about to become an even bigger factor in B.C.’s export mix, when LNG production and shipments from LNG Canada begin next year.
And a new report sees Canada’s natural-gas sector as poised for significant growth, driven by ongoing LNG projects and rising demand for gas-fired electricity generation.
- For more, read our latest blog: https://ow.ly/JnVv50SLM42
HaiSea Wamis moves to Kitimat
The Haisla Nation/Seaspan electric tug HaiSea Wamis has arrived at Kitimat. It will be joined there in mid-August by two more electric tugs (HaiSea Wee’git and HaiSea Brave) and two larger dual-fuel tugs (HaiSea Kermode and HaiSea Warrior).
All will assist LNG carriers to and from LNG Canada.
- About the tugs: https://haiseamarine.com/our-vessels/
(Photo from the District of Kitimat)
Indigenous clean-energy news
- Stonebridge Financial, which finances renewable-energy projects with Indigenous economic ownership, wins the Indigenous Allyship Award from the First Nations Power Authority: https://ow.ly/QsiZ50SEvAo
- Musqueam-owned Salish Environmental Group gets a B.C. grant for developing technology that uses wood waste to power greenhouses: https://ow.ly/qgTO50SJz7H
- Two nations see benefits from proposed pumped-hydro power-storage project in Ontario: https://ow.ly/4rBJ50SLJH4
- Woodstock First Nation chief has questions about a wind farm in New Brunswick: https://ow.ly/EwAr50SLLjq
ALSO IN THE NEWS
- View: The federal emissions cap on oil/gas could lead to a loss of $75 billion in capital investment, a $6-billion annual loss to the economy, and little environmental gain: https://ow.ly/YAUq50SHlUe
- The BC Environmental Assessment Office rules that JX LNG Canada’s proposed Summit Lake LNG-by-rail plant, north of Prince George, must show how it will achieve net-zero emissions by 2030: https://ow.ly/uiVq50SKuW9
- The federal Competition Bureau seeks feedback on Ottawa’s new ‘greenwashing’ law. News release: https://ow.ly/yCea50SIBl2 News story: https://ow.ly/OqEo50SIBl3 Our opinion: https://ow.ly/cA2O50SIBl0
- Halfway River First Nation now has a B.C. natural-gas and petroleum tenure that gives it the right to determine how best petroleum and gas resources can be explored for and produced in the tenure area in northeast BC: https://ow.ly/a4tE50SI7Kk
- Alberta Environment Minister Rebecca Schulz: ‘Canada produces the world’s cleanest LNG. That’s really where we see our opportunity because emissions don’t have boundaries, they don’t stop at the border.’ More: https://ow.ly/fp3v50SKsVv From the Canadian Gas Association
EVENTS
- Forward Summit East, Sept. 25-26, Orillia ON: https://ow.ly/i65h50QnWYR
- Carbon Capture Canada expo, Sept. 10-12, Edmonton: https://ow.ly/sOyJ50SBqxz
- Nation2Nation’s 8th annual forum, Oct. 8-10, Terrace BC: https://ow.ly/omzI50RAgBT
- Canadian Gas Association’s Energy Nexus and Technical Conference, Oct. 8-10, Toronto: https://ow.ly/HrKx50SbcZx
- Forward Summit West Coast, Oct. 22-23, Vancouver: https://ow.ly/4UQe50R3CY2
2025
- National Aboriginal Capital Corporations Association, Indigenous Prosperity Forum, May 6-8, Gatineau PQ. Details TBA.
- Ninth Indigenous Resource Opportunities Conference, June 18-20, Nanaimo BC: https://ow.ly/m1rW50SHvIp
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