The Canadian government's endorsement of the Ksi Lisims LNG export terminal in British Columbia has given potential buyers new confidence that Canada will be a major player in the global gas market, a partner in the project said this week.
Permit approvals this week from federal and provincial regulators are "a huge thing,” Davis Thames, CEO of Ksi Lisims backer Western LNG, told Energy Intelligence in an interview.
“I don't feel like the permits themselves somehow changed the game for the buyers," Thames said. "I think everybody understood where we were in the process, and I was comfortable that we're going to get there. But really, the game changer has been the change in tone from the Canadian government. It's been read internationally, and we've really seen a ton of interest on the LNG side.”
The Liberal government led by Prime Minister Mark Carney has aimed to boost energy exports beyond the US amid a trade row instigated by President Donald Trump. Carney has said LNG exports would be a key element of a strategy to achieve “energy superpower” status and has recently been seen promoting the potential for East Coast exports to Europe — a marked shift from the position of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who argued there wasn’t a business case for Canadian LNG exports to Germany.
