Just weeks after announcing a partnership with Spectra Energy to build a pipeline connecting Prince Rupert to northeastern BC, the BG Group is looking to begin public discussion about its proposed LNG terminal on Ridley Island.
The company has scheduled a meeting with members of the Prince Rupert Seniors Centre in October and will be coming to the community at large in the weeks and months ahead.
“The Seniors Centre is the first meeting we have, and it is a very informal gathering to say ‘this is what we are thinking about, what are your thoughts?’. It is the start of a very open, two-way discussion about the project,” said BG Group Canada acting president Steve Swaffield, adding that there is a more thorough community meeting scheduled for late November.
“What the BG Group wants to do is communicate with the community very early in the process so people know what we are planning.
While the company will be talking to people in Prince Rupert this fall, Swaffield stressed that people need to know that the terminal itself would still be a long way away.
“We’re still very early on in the feasibility stage. We have commenced discussions with First Nations groups, started some environmental assessment work on the site and looked at noise and other monitoring in Port Edward,” he explained.
“We wouldn’t be making a final investment decision until the middle of the decade, and it is a long construction period so I wouldn’t expect LNG to be shipped until the end of the decade or early next decade.”
Despite the long time frame, Swaffield said it was important for the company to partner with Spectra Energy and begin the process of examining a pipeline to Ridley Island to ensure it would be operational to coincide with the start-up of the terminal.
As for why the company is looking at Prince Rupert for its LNG terminal, Swaffield said it’s all about location.
“Ridley Island is in one of the best, world class port with access to road and rail and is closer in proximity to the Asian markets. Ridley Island really does stand out as the ideal location,” he said.
