South Korean shipbuilder Hanwha Ocean has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with developer Kanata Clean to develop a floating LNG (FLNG) export project near the port city of Prince Rupert in British Columbia on 16 June.
The project in its entirety is expected to have a capacity of up to 12mn t/yr, and will cost about $15.7bn. But it is still subject to final engineering and regulatory approvals.
Under the MoU, both firms will co-operate across several areas including engineering and construction of the FLNG and related facilities, long-term LNG purchase agreements and other solutions such as LNG carriers and LNG bunkering vessels (LNGBVs), among others.
This project will add to a growing list of Canadian LNG export projects already in the pipeline. Germany utility Uniper has signed a letter of intent with Canada's proposed 12mn t/yr Ksi Lisims LNG earlier this month, which could be converted into a binding sales and purchase agreement (Spa) for 2mn t/yr of LNG, the utility said.
The 12mn t/yr Ksi Lisims LNG also signed an agreement with Germany's Sefe back in late-May, to sell 1mn t/yr of LNG for up to 20 years from the early 2030s.
Securing LNG from Canada has increasingly emerged as an important step for importers to diversify their supplies. This is especially after the start of the US-Iran war in end-February and resultant Iranian missile attacks which wiped out about 12.8mn t/yr of Qatar's original 77mn t/yr of nameplate capacity.
But Asian importers may be wary of too much exposure to Canadian exports, given the country's reputation for over-regulation, India's top envoy to Canada said last week.