Canada’s LNG Projects: Prospects and Challenges

We will not be surprised if first LNG exports are delayed to 2026 (With three charts)

LNG Canada site construction activities, Kitimat, September 2023. Source: LNG Canada

Being the world’s fourth largest gas producer, Canada produced about 185 billion cubic meters (bcm) of natural gas in 2022, surpassing Qatar (162 bcm), according to the Energy Institute’s Statistical Review of World Energy. Despite its vast gas reserves and production, Canada is not an LNG exporter. It only exports gas via pipelines to neighboring US.  The North American country, however, is currently developing a number of LNG projects that will enable it to join the club of LNG exporters in the next few years.  Such development is expected to lead to a boom in shale gas plays in Western Canada.  Gas producers who suffered for so long will finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.  

In this article, we highlight the potentials and challenges in Canada’s LNG sector, as we discuss the outlook for its planned LNG projects in the short and medium terms.