BAM Starts Construction on Rio Tinto Terminal Expansion

The mobilization and construction works on Rio Tinto Terminal A expansion on behalf of Canada LNG have started, BAM International, part of Dutch BAM Group said.

BAM announced the contract just before Mitsubishi Corporation, Shell, PETRONAS, PetroChina and Korea Gas Corporation (KOGAS) took the final investment decision (FID) on LNG Canada in early October.

LNG Canada agreed to extend the existing BC Works Terminal A in exchange for Rio Tinto’s Terminal B, which handles exports of finished products for Rio Tinto’s ongoing operations. The location of Terminal B coincides with LNG Canada’s export terminal in Kitimat, British Columbia, located approximately 600 km north-west of Vancouver.

The project will consist of a 320 x 60 metre terminal for the Rio Tinto BC Works, as well as a berth for cargo barges. Both elements will be built on more than 400 steel piles with a concrete deck of approximately 20,000 m3.

BAM and its partners JJM Construction from Canada and Manson Construction from USA expect the USD 108 million project to complete in autumn 2020. 

The first phase of construction of LNG Canada export terminal will take approximately five years, with the first LNG expected before the middle of the next decade.

LNG Canada is said to represent one of the most significant energy investment projects in Canadian history, with the total estimated development cost of about USD 14 billion.

The facility will initially export LNG from two processing units or ‘trains’ totaling 14 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), with the potential to expand to four trains in the future.

In a separate statement, Rio Tinto informed that it completed the lease and sale of a wharf and land in Kitimat, British Columbia, to LNG Canada for a consideration of USD 576 million.

LNG Canada entered into an Option Agreement with Rio Tinto in 2014 for various options to lease or purchase the wharf and areas of land. The company will construct a replacement wharf for Rio Tinto to export shipments of aluminium from the BC Works smelter.