Steelhead LNG and the Malahat First Nation completed a mutual benefits agreement and long-term lease supporting the proposed development of Malahat LNG, a facility to be situated approximately 8 kilometres south of Mill Bay on Vancouver Island.
The proposed facility, expected to have a capacity of up to 6 million tonnes per annum, would include floating liquefaction facilities moored to the shoreline and minor supporting land-based infrastructure, Steelhead LNG said in a statement.
The Malahat LNG project will now undergo regulatory, environmental and technical assessments.
Steelhead LNG also said it will also undertake an extensive consultation and engagement process with members of the Malahat Nation, other potentially affected First Nations, local stakeholders and residents.
The company is currently assessing pipeline route options to deliver natural gas to Vancouver Island for both Malahat LNG and the proposed project Steelhead LNG and the Huu-ay-aht First Nations are exploring at Sarita Bay in the Alberni Inlet. The sharing of pipeline infrastructure is a significant enabler for both projects, the company said.
The floating liquefaction facility is in the preliminary design phase, but the use of pipeline natural gas as an input and being jetty moored in calm waters will allow for a more straightforward design than other floating liquefaction facilities currently under construction globally.
The scalability of floating liquefaction technology along with the use of existing infrastructure provides Steelhead with a flexible and independent project that enables investment with a comparatively low LNG sales commitment volume, it said.
On July 8, 2014, Steelhead LNG applied to the National Energy Board for five licenses to export in the aggregate of up to 30 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year for 25 years. Steelhead has since confirmed to the National Energy Board that one 6 mtpa license will be allocated to Malahat LNG, while the other four 6 mtpa licenses will be allocated to the project at Sarita Bay.
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Image: Steelhead LNG