First Nations welcome LNG site’s potential move
Petronas project’s reported redesign called ‘ideal’ to protect environment
Aboriginal leaders in northwestern British Columbia cautiously welcomed reports that Malaysia’s state-owned oil company Petronas is considering changes to its $27 billion Pacific Northwest LNG project near Prince Rupert to alleviate environmental concerns.
Bloomberg News, citing unnamed sources, reported the company is in the middle of redesigning the project on Lelu Island, adjacent to important salmon habitat called the Flora Bank, with the goal of moving parts of the facility to nearby Ridley Island.
Environmentalists and aboriginal groups have protested the proposed liquefied natural gas export terminal for its potential negative effects on the Flora Bank and have established a camp on Lelu Island in an attempt to prevent construction work on the project, which the company has yet to sanction after winning federal approvals in September.
Gitanyow hereditary chief Glen Williams said Wednesday his group “always wanted” the project moved to avoid damaging the Flora Bank, a shallow, eelgrasscovered embankment where juvenile salmon acclimate between fresh and salt water every year.
Williams said Pacific Northwest has yet to communicate potential changes to the project or a possible new location on Ridley Island to him or his legal team, but he welcomed the chance to discuss changes to the site.
He said that moving the project in its entirety onto Ridley Island “would be ideal at this point.”
Williams and Gitwilgyoots hereditary chief Donnie Wesley launched separate legal challenges in October in an attempt to stop the project and claim the federal government had failed to properly consult with their groups.
“What they’re talking about is a few hundred yards — across the street more or less,” Wesley said.
“I don’t know if the federal government will make the company, Petronas, do any more environmental assessments for where they’re planning to put it,” he said, noting he would like another full environmental assessment done.
Ridley Island, reported to be the new proposed site, is already home to two docking facilities used for coal and grain exports at the federally owned Ridley Terminals Inc. site.
The new location would eliminate the need for an extended suspension bridge, which Pacific Northwest had previously proposed to alleviate environmental concerns about the Flora Bank, but which did not satisfy opposition to the project.
“Pacific Northwest LNG is conducting a total project review over the coming months,” company spokesperson Spencer Sproule said Wednesday.
“During this time, the project is continuing to work with area First Nations, stakeholders, and regulators, to manage any potential impacts through mitigation measures and design optimization.”
Petronas and its partners — China Petrochemical Corp., Japan Petroleum Exploration Co., Indian Oil Corp. and Brunei National Petroleum Co. — are expected to decide whether to proceed with the project in early 2017.
The facility would produce as much as 19.2 million metric tons a year of LNG and open up a new trade route for Canadian gas to be shipped to Asia.
B.C. Natural Gas Development Minister Rich Coleman said he expects Petronas to make a decision this summer.
“Pacific Northwest LNG has told us that since federal approval, they have been working with area First Nations, stakeholders and regulators to move the project forward in a competitive manner,” Coleman said in an email.
Canada’s Environmental Assessment Agency hasn’t received any information yet about potential changes, the agency said in an email.
“If we receive any new information from Petronas, we will review it and determine the appropriate next steps, including any potential environmental assessment requirements,” it said.