Enbridge workers weld pipe just west of Morden, Man., in 2018. Enbridge’s certificate for building a major pipeline, the Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission (WCGT) pipeline, has expired.JOHN WOODS/The Canadian Press
British Columbia’s environmental regulator says Enbridge Inc.’s ENB-T certificate for building a major pipeline to transport natural gas has expired, ruling that a new review will be needed if the company wants to revive the project.
Enbridge’s Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission (WCGT) pipeline project became part of a flurry of planning activity more than a decade ago amid much hype for exporting liquefied natural gas by ships to Asia in hopes of shifting away from decades of energy integration with the United States.
WCGT was designed to run from northeast B.C. to the West Coast. But the project, meant to supply a terminal that would supercool natural gas into liquid form for Asian buyers, has become the latest example of fizzled plans in Canada to reduce reliance on transporting natural gas through pipelines into U.S. markets.
Calgary-based Enbridge obtained an environmental assessment certificate for WCGT from the B.C. government on Nov. 25, 2014, and then in 2019, it received a five-year extension, according to the BC Environmental Assessment Office. But under the province’s Environmental Assessment Act, an extension is only granted once, unless a project is deemed to be “substantially started.”
Alex MacLennan, the regulator’s chief executive assessment officer, said he has determined that Enbridge’s certificate expired on Nov. 25, 2024. He said Enbridge itself confirmed in late November that WCGT did not meet the requirements of being substantially started.
“As the certificate has expired, should Enbridge Inc. wish to pursue any future development proposals that meet the definition of a reviewable project as set out in the Act, a new environmental assessment based on up-to-date information would be required,” Mr. MacLennan said in a letter sent last month to Enbridge.
With the integrated energy market in North America being threatened by U.S. tariffs and a potential trade war looming, industry observers say the best bet for Canada to spur LNG exports will be from B.C. to Asia, because of economic and political barriers to shipping LNG from the Canada’s East Coast to Europe.
In B.C., there are three LNG projects under construction with the prospect of a fourth – Ksi Lisims LNG – forging ahead, said Shannon Joseph, chair of Energy for a Secure Future, a coalition backed by the Canadian natural gas industry. “If we can’t make that work on the Pacific, it is a pipedream to try and export from the Atlantic,” Ms. Joseph said in an interview this week from Japan during a trade mission.
LNG Canada, which will be nearing completion of construction this spring in Kitimat, B.C., is mulling over expansion plans. The two other energy projects in B.C. under construction are Woodfibre LNG near Squamish and Cedar LNG in Kitimat.
The cancellation of WCGT underscores the economic challenges inherent with LNG plans in Canada over the past 15 years, including the high costs to build pipelines and export terminals.
WCGT formerly sought to supply BG Group PLC’s planned terminal for exporting LNG from Ridley Island, located near Prince Rupert. But after Shell PLC’s acquisition of BG Group in 2016, Shell decided to focus on the LNG Canada joint venture in Kitimat, and later scrapped plans for the Ridley Island project named Prince Rupert LNG.
Enbridge subsequently shifted its attention to a different route from northeast B.C. to a location near the site of Ksi Lisims, a proposed export facility envisaged by the Nisga’a Nation.
But in the fall of 2023, Ksi Lisims chose to collaborate with the planned Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) pipeline project, leaving Enbridge with what amounted to a route to nowhere. Last summer, the Nisga’a and Houston-based Western LNG acquired PRGT from Calgary-based TC Energy Corp.
B.C. Environment Minister Tamara Davidson is slated to rule on the fate of PRGT this spring after she reviews arguments, including from climate activists opposed to PRGT.
Mr. MacLennan sent his Jan. 24 letter to Enbridge several weeks after the company said in early December that it decided to halt work on developing WCGT.
On Tuesday, Enbridge said it will still play an active role in B.C.
“We look forward to working with Indigenous groups and communities on the advancement of other opportunities throughout the province,” company spokesperson Jesse Semko said in a statement.
In 2013, there were more than 20 proposals to build LNG facilities that would supply the overseas market, but the number of B.C. projects and proposals has dwindled over the years to only a handful.
Exports of LNG to Asia are slated to begin by mid-2025 from LNG Canada’s new terminal in Kitimat. Shell-led LNG Canada will become the country’s first export terminal for the fuel, with an initial capacity of 14 million tonnes a year.
It’s unclear how many B.C. LNG projects might be completed in the long term, so Canadian producers will continue to be largely dependent on the U.S. as the dominant destination for natural gas exports over the next several years, industry analysts say.