Construction to begin on Woodfibre LNG facility near Squamish

Artistic rendering of the Woodfibre LNG plant and terminal. (Woodfibre LNG)

Before the end of this month, construction could begin on the pipeline feeding natural gas to the future Woodfibre LNG plant and terminal near Squamish.

A new bulletin by FortisBC states construction for the Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas Pipeline will begin on or after August 28, 2023.

The actual facility for Woodfibre LNG will be located on the west side of Howe Sound, just southwest of the town of Squamish — about 60 km northwest of Vancouver.

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The Woodfibre LNG site spans 212 acres of industrial waterfront land previously used for sawmill and pulp mill operations, which ended in 2006.

Current condition of the future site of the Woodfibre LNG plant and terminal. (Woodfibre LNG)

This relatively small-scale facility is expected to produce between 1.5 million and 2.1 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG), with 8.8 million cubic metres of floating storage capacity before the LNG is channeled into carrier ships for export to Asia. Between three and four ships are expected each month.

In contrast, the massive LNG Canada facility in Kitimat — now nearing completion at a cost of $40 billion — will produce 14 million tonnes per year, with a potential second phase expansion growing capacity to 28 million tonnes per year.

Singapore-based Pacific Energy is covering 70% of Woodfibre LNG’s CA$6.8 billion (US$5.1 billion) construction cost, while Alberta-based Enbridge is covering 30%. This includes covering a portion of FortisBC’s pipeline cost.

The federal government in 2016 provided Woodfibre LNG with the original full environment assessment approval, and the project has since received all major federal, provincial, and First Nations approvals.

Artistic rendering of the Woodfibre LNG plant and terminal. (Woodfibre LNG)

Artistic rendering of the Woodfibre LNG plant and terminal. (Woodfibre LNG)

Last month, during the LNG 2023 conference held in Vancouver, officials with Woodfibre LNG reaffirmed their timeline to start major construction on the plant and terminal facility in September 2023, with site preparation already well underway.

Most workers — up to 800 workers at the peak of construction — will live on a floating hotel at the construction site. The “floatel” is expected to be ready by early 2024.

Coinciding with the actual start of construction of Woodfibre LNG, FortisBC will also commence construction on its 50 km gas pipeline between Coquitlam and Squamish, with the majority of this pipeline running alongside the utility’s existing pipeline to minimize environmental footprint.

Eagle Mountain - Woodfibre LNG Gas Pipeline Project

Route of the new Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas Pipeline serving Woodfibre LNG. (FortisBC)

Route of the new Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas Pipeline serving Woodfibre LNG in the Coquitlam area. (FortisBC)

Route of the new Eagle Mountain-Woodfibre Gas Pipeline serving Woodfibre LNG in the Squamish/Howe Sound area. (FortisBC)

The new gas pipeline will run near Western Plateau in northern Coquitlam, and a nine-km-long pipeline tunnel will be built for the westernmost pipeline segment in Howe Sound between Squamish and the facility.

The parts of the tunnel boring machines for the tunnel construction process arrived on a barge in Squamish earlier this summer.

The newly released pipeline construction schedule shows initial construction activities will occur between Summer 2023 and early 2024. Pipeline tunnel construction in the Howe Sound area will begin in the third quarter of 2023 and continue into the third quarter of 2026. Pipeline twinning within Coquitlam will occur throughout 2024. Pipeline construction is expected to reach full completion by the end of 2026.

Woodfibre LNG is expected to be operational by 2027.

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