Fluor–JGC JV picks up FEED job for Canadian LNG plant’s expansion

A joint venture between Texas-based engineering firm Fluor Corporation and Japan’s JGC Holdings Corporation has won the front-end engineering and design (FEED) contract for a proposed enlargement of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility located in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada. 

After winning the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for Phase 1 of the LNG Canada project in 2018, the duo has now been awarded the contract to update the FEED for the proposed Phase 2 of the recently launched plant.

“We’ve been a proud partner of LNG Canada through Phase 1 and we look forward to contributing to the next chapter in the construction of this world-class facility,” said Mike Alexander, Fluor’s Business Group President of Energy Solutions. “We commend the LNG Canada team for its foresight and commitment to the energy transition by providing natural gas, a lower-carbon energy alternative, to global markets.”

According to Fluor, which disclosed the news, the project’s five joint venture participants – Shell, PetroChina, KOGAS, Mitsubishi, and Petronas – continue to explore pathways to a Phase 2, but no final investment decision (FID) has been made yet.

The project recently witnessed Phase 1 commissioning with the export of its first and second cargoes. According to a social media post by LNG Canada, a fifth LNG cargo was being loaded onto an LNG carrier on July 30, when the Premier of British Columbia visited the site.

Located on Canada’s west coast, the LNG Canada facility boasts an annual production capacity of up to 14 million tonnes of LNG from its two trains. A Phase 2 expansion would increase the facility’s processing, storage, and shipping capabilities with the addition of two trains.

The plant is said to be the first of its kind in Canada, placing the country on the LNG exporters’ list. It will operate under a 40-year license, helping to reduce global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by replacing coal with natural gas.

Furthermore, the plant’s 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.