Shell-Led Consortium Approves $23 Billion LNG Canada Phase 2 Expansion, Doubling Export Capacity

A Shell-led consortium has given the final green light to the Phase 2 expansion of LNG Canada, committing roughly 33 billion Canadian dollars, or $23 billion US, to double the facility's production capacity to approximately 28 million metric tons of liquefied natural gas per year. The project is located in Kitimat, British Columbia, and the decision was announced on September 29 with Prime Minister Mark Carney in Vancouver to mark the occasion, directly advancing his goal of making Canada an energy superpower.

The expansion immediately generated a wave of downstream contract awards. Fluor Corporation secured a $7.5 billion share of the Phase 2 engineering, procurement and construction contract through its joint venture with Japan's JGC Corporation, the same partnership that delivered Phase 1. TC Energy also confirmed it is moving ahead with the Coastal GasLink Phase 2 pipeline expansion, which is required to deliver incremental natural gas supply from producing regions to the Kitimat export terminal.

The investment positions Canada as a major LNG exporter at a moment when global supply disruptions have intensified focus on energy security. Canada's government had previously estimated the project would create thousands of jobs and attract tens of billions in private sector capital, and the Phase 2 approval now puts those projections on a concrete footing.