Construction costs for Canada's planned 2.1mn t/yr Woodfibre LNG export terminal have nearly doubled, according to minority stakeholder oil and gas firm Enbridge.
The project took a final investment decision in 2016 under its parent company Pacific Energy. Canadian multinational Enbridge took a 30pc stake in the export terminal in November 2022, with the remaining 70pc still held by Pacific Energy. Financial contributions are proportional to equity stake, according to the partnership.
Enbridge now estimates that its costs for Woodfibre LNG to be $2.9bn, up from $1.5bn. Based on the equity breakdown, that would imply the total cost of the project to be $9.67bn.
The capital cost increase for Woodfibre is due to changes in building codes, permitting delays and an additional floating hotel for workers in Squamish, according to Enbridge's results call. Still, the firm expects a "low double-digit return" and the intended service date for the project is still 2027, Enbridge said.
The firm has also sanctioned a 40bn ft³ expansion of the Aitken Creek gas storage facility in northwestern British Columbia (BC), with an intended service date of 2028 in anticipation of more LNG projects coming on line in the second half of the decade. Aitken Creek has a current storage capacity of 77bn ft³ and is presently the only large-scale gas storage facility in BC.
Enbridge did not report any new Canadian greenfield gas pipeline projects, and said that any new pipelines in the region would be likely to require a new large-scale LNG facility to proceed. The firms operates the Westcoast pipeline system in BC, and cancelled its Westcoast connector project in December last year.
The connector project was planned to extend to Wil Milit on the north coast of BC, where the proposed 12mn t/yr Ksi Lisims LNG terminal is located. But the project was likely cancelled after construction began on the rival Prince Rupert Gas Transmission pipeline, which also terminates at Wil Milit.
