Petronas cheers its first cargo from Shell’s newly-operational LNG project in Canada

July 8, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas has celebrated the sailaway of its first liquefied natural gas (LNG) cargo from the export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia (B.C.), Canada operated by U.K.-headquartered energy giant Shell.

LNG vessel Puteri Sejinjang; Source: Petronas

After Shell confirmed the initial LNG cargo export from LNG Canada last week, Petronas has now announced its first cargo from this LNG project in British Columbia.

The Malaysian player’s shipment departed the LNG Canada facility for Japan on July 7 aboard the 174,000-cubic meter (cbm) Puteri Sejinjang LNG vessel. Petronas sees the milestone as a significant event for its operations in Canada.

Adif Zulkifli, Petronas’ Executive Vice President & CEO of Gas and Maritime Business said: “PETRONAS’ first cargo sail away is the culmination of years of perseverance to realise our vision for Canadian LNG exports to the Asia Pacific region. We are privileged to commemorate this moment with LNG Canada, our other joint venture partners, the Haisla Nation, Kitimat community, and Canadians at large. PETRONAS is honoured to be a part of this first-of-its-kind project in Canada.”

Shell, PetroChina, KOGAS, and Mitsubishi are Petronas’ partners in the project, with Shell being the operator and 40% interest owner. Petronas holds a 25% equity holding in the project, through its wholly owned entity North Montney LNG Limited Partnership.

Located on Canada’s west coast, the facility will export LNG from two processing units or trains with a total capacity of 14 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). This could be expanded to four trains in the future.

According to Petronas, the plant is designed to be one of the lowest-emissions LNG export facilities globally, featuring energy-efficient gas turbines, methane-leak detection and mitigation systems, and power sourced from the BC Hydro grid, predominantly powered by hydroelectric and renewable energy.

As a result, the GHG intensity is said to be 35% lower than the existing best-performing LNG plants around the world, and about 60% below the global average.

When the facility was getting ready to welcome the first LNG vessel in April, it was disclosed that it will comprise a natural gas receiving and LNG production unit and a marine terminal able to accommodate two LNG carriers, a tugboat dock, and LNG loading lines. LNG processing units, storage tanks, a rail yard, a water treatment facility, and flare stacks were also said to form part of the plant.