Around Town Kwispaa LNG project on hold
The Huu-ay-aht First Nation says Steelhead LNG has pulled out of a planned development at Sarita Bay, just months after it was announced as a major milestone.
As proposed, Kwispaa was to be built on First Nation owned land, about 70 kilometres south-west of Port Alberni. The project required the construction of a pipeline to deliver natural gas from northern BC to the Huu-ay-aht territory, crossing the ocean at Powell River to the Comox Valley. The rough plan for the ocean crossing would have seen it run near an existing FortisBC transmission line and was projected to be in service by 2025.
At the time the project was announced, Steelhead CEO Nigel Kuzemko said the company had National Energy Board licences to export 24 million tonnes of LNG through the facility annually.
Steelhead LNG Manager of Communications, Matt Skinner, said the decision to cease work on the Kwispaa project comes down to economics and given the current environment in B.C., investors need a greater degree of certainty before moving forward. The company has not completely pulled out of the deal, but there are no plans to continue forward at this time.
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