Kwispaa LNG Terminal

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Kwispaa LNG Terminal, also known as Sarita Bay LNG Terminal, is a cancelled (inferred 4 y) LNG export terminal in Canada.

Location

Table 1: Location details

Name Location Coordinates (WGS 84)
Kwispaa LNG Terminal Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada[1] 49.233889, -124.805 (approximate)

The map below shows the approximate location of the terminal:

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Project Details

Table 2: Infrastructure details

mtpa = million tonnes per year
Name Facility type Status Capacity Total terminal capacity Offshore Associated infrastructure
Kwispaa LNG Terminal export[1] cancelled (inferred 4 y) 24 mtpa[1] 24.0 mtpa False –

Table 3: Cost

Name Facility type Cost Total known terminal costs
Kwispaa LNG Terminal export[1] – –

Financing

No financing data available.

Table 4: Project timeline

FID = Final Investment Decision, used by some developers to indicate a project will move forward
Name Facility type Status Proposal year FID year Construction year Operating year Inactive year
Kwispaa LNG Terminal export[1] cancelled (inferred 4 y) – – – – 2019 (cancelled)

Ownership

Table 5: Ownership

Name Facility type Status Owners Parent companies Operator
Kwispaa LNG Terminal export[1] cancelled (inferred 4 y) Steelhead LNG Corp [100%][1] Steelhead LNG Corp [100.0%] –

Background

Kwispaa LNG Terminal was a proposed LNG export terminal in British Columbia, Canada.[2]

In 2014, Steelhead LNG applied for licenses to export a cumulative 4.25 bcf/d from one or more liquefaction terminals in British Columbia, with first export anticipated in 2019.[3]

In 2015, the National Energy Board approved the applications, 1 of which was allocated to Malahat LNG for 6 mtpa, the other 4 allocated to Sarita LNG (later renamed Kwispaa LNG) for a 24 mtpa project.[4]

Per Sightline Institute's 2017 report, "Steelhead has not announced pipeline plans for the Sarita Bay project but speculates that it could use a combination of existing and new pipelines to transport gas supply to that facility."[5]

In February of 2019, Steelhead LNG shelved the Kwispaa LNG project in Sarita Bay, citing investor concerns.[6]

There have been no updates since then, and the project is presumed to be cancelled.

Opposition

"In March 2017, the Huu-ay-aht First Nations voted to approve a co-management development relationship for Kwispaa LNG," the Sightline Institute wrote in their 2017 report, "Mapping BC's LNG Proposals". However, an opponent of the development has claimed that Huu-ay-aht First Nation members were bribed and coerced into supporting the project after being promised $2 million for education and training and to double monthly grants to elders. The opponent explained that the nation's government communicated that if people didn't vote yes, programs and services would be lowered.[7]

In March 2018, a group of about twelve protesters gathered outside the Italian Hall where the Port Alberni Chamber of Commerce was scheduled to hear updates from Steelhead LNG and Huu-ay-aht First Nation, which could be built in Sarita Bay, in Huu-ay-aht traditional territory. Protestors were affiliated with the Barkley Sound Alliance (BSA), an organization opposed to the terminal.[8]

Articles and Resources

Additional data

To access additional data, including an interactive map of LNG terminals, a downloadable dataset, and summary data, please visit the Global Gas Infrastructure Tracker on the Global Energy Monitor website.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 http://www.sightline.org/research_item/maps-british-columbia-lng-proposals/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  2. ↑ Sarita Bay LNG Terminal , A Barrel Full, accessed April 2017
  3. ↑ "CER – Export Licence Applications". www.cer-rec.gc.ca. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  4. ↑ "Steelhead LNG receives NEB approval | LNG Industry". www.lngindustry.com. Retrieved 2026-06-16.
  5. ↑ "Mapping BC's LNG Proposals: Twenty projects stall as provincial government’s liquefied natural gas ‘gold rush’ busts," Sightline Institute, March 2017 (contains further footnotes in text)
  6. ↑ Steelhead LNG stops work on Kwispaa LNG project near Bamfield BC Local News, February 18, 2019
  7. ↑ "Sarita Bay LNG Vote Came with Promise of Multimillion-Dollar Education Fund," Andrew Nikiforuk, The Tyee, 6 April 2017
  8. ↑ Denise Titian, ACRD Director leads protest against proposed LNG terminal in Huu-ay-aht hahulthi Ha-Shilth-Sa, March 1, 2018