The Woodfibre LNG project is a liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing and export facility currently under construction at Howe Sound, British Columbia (BC), Canada.
The project is owned by Woodfibre LNG Limited Partnership, in which Pacific Energy Corporation (Canada) has a 70% interest, with the remaining 30% interest is held by Enbridge.
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The facility is expected to operate for 40 years and have a processing and exporting capacity of 2.1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of LNG.
In March 2020, the company announced that the planned commencement of construction had been delayed partly due to Covid-19, with officials applying for the extension of the Environmental Assessment certificate for five years.
Early construction works on the project began in September 2023 and the facility is expected to commence operations in 2027.
Once operational, Woodfibre LNG is expected to be among the lowest-emission LNG facilities and is expected to achieve a carbon intensity of approximately 0.04t of CO2-equivalent (CO2e) per tonne of LNG, which is below the BC regulatory benchmark of 0.16tCO2e.
Woodfibre LNG is also the first industrial project in Canada to formally recognise a non-treaty indigenous government, the Squamish Nation, as a full environmental regulator.
The project is expected to create approximately 600 jobs during construction and 100 permanent jobs when operational.
Woodfibre LNG location
The Woodfibre LNG project sits in an 86-hectare area, 7km south-west of Squamish in BC, Canada. It is being developed on the former Woodfibre pulp mill site, which ran for around a century.
The location can only be reached by water, making it suitable for marine exports.
Development background
The National Energy Board approved the LNG export license for the project in December 2013.
In October 2015, the BC Environmental Assessment Office granted an Environmental Assessment Certificate for the project. This followed conditional environmental approval issued earlier that month by the Squamish Nation for the development, which sits within the Nation’s traditional territory.
In March 2016, Woodfibre LNG obtained federal environmental approval from the Minister of Environment and Climate Change under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, 2012.
The Government of Canada granted the project an export licence valid for 40 years in June 2017.
In July 2022, Pacific Energy and Enbridge agreed to co-invest in the construction and operation of the Woodfibre LNG project. The funding package included a contribution in aid of construction for the expansion of the Eagle Mountain to Woodfibre pipeline (EGP) project, which will link the facility via FortisBC’s network to Enbridge’s T-South natural gas transmission system.
Woodfibre LNG project details
The Woodfibre LNG project will include a single liquefaction train, floating LNG storage and offloading facilities, an air-based cooling system, and marine berthing infrastructure to accommodate LNG carriers.
The all-electric LNG liquefaction unit will use pumps, compressors and heat exchangers to treat natural gas and produce LNG. It will be powered by hydroelectricity supplied by BC Hydro and comprise various modules such as a pretreatment, process utility, powerhouse and main liquefaction.
Two Floating Storage Tank barges will form the floating storage for the project and will be permanently moored at the marine terminal. Each barge is around 208m long, 65m wide and 25m high. They are existing LNG carrier vessels that will be modified off-site and converted into stationary LNG storage barges.
A permanent marine offloading platform will be installed offshore on the west side of the facility. The marine facilities include the LNG transfer and access modules, permanent mooring structures, LNG carrier berthing structures, mooring points and associated gangways.
LNG from the onshore plant will be sent to the barges via jumper arms and will then be loaded from the barges to LNG carriers using loading arms on the loading platform. The LNG carriers are engineered to carry and transport the LNG at extremely low temperatures.
Gas intake details
The feed gas for the LNG facility will be supplied by the EGP gas pipeline, which was approved by the provincial government in August 2016.
The EGP project involves a 47km pipeline expansion of FortisBC’s existing Vancouver Island natural gas transmission network, intended to supply natural gas to the Woodfibre LNG facility.
Construction details
The Woodfibre LNG project’s pre-construction phase, completed in 2023, involved site remediation and preparing the area for building activity.
In September 2023, the site was transferred to the prime contractor, marking the start of construction mobilisation. Equipment was brought to the site and early works progressed, positioning the project for increased construction activity in 2024.
In May 2025, Woodfibre LNG marked a key construction step with the arrival of the first seven specialised LNG modules at the project site. Transported by a heavy cargo vessel, the pipe rack modules were the first large modular units delivered for installation.
By May 2026, more than 65% of the construction works had been completed and 16 large-scale modules were delivered to the site. In-water works commenced in June, focusing on the critical installation of marine infrastructure and piles required for the project.
The project also uses two floatels, a floating work camp accommodation, to house the on-site workforce. The MV Isabelle X, with accommodation for 600, arrived in June 2024. The MV Saga X, with accommodation for 642 construction workers, arrived in November 2025. Both floatels are expected to stay on location until construction is completed in 2027.
Offtake agreements
In June 2019, Pacific Oil & Gas subsidiary Woodfibre LNG Export signed a binding LNG sales and purchase agreement with BP Gas Marketing, an indirect wholly owned unit of bp. The contract provided for 0.75mtpa of LNG over 15 years on a free on-board (FOB) basis.
A second agreement followed in May 2021, again covering 0.75mtpa for 15 years on a FOB basis. This increased BP Gas Marketing’s contracted volumes with Woodfibre LNG to 1.5mtpa, accounting for more than 70% of the project’s expected annual production.
In September 2023, bp entered a third long-term offtake deal with Woodfibre LNG for 0.45mtpa over 15 years on an FOB basis, bringing the company’s contracted volumes to 1.95mtpa, meaning Woodfibre LNG’s full output was committed to bp, with any remaining volumes handled through flexible offtake arrangements.
Under the agreements, bp will also manage the transportation of gas to the Woodfibre LNG export facility throughout the 15-year term.
Contractors involved with Woodfibre LNG project
Linde Group, an industrial gases and engineering company, is responsible for providing engineering and procurement services for the project.
In October 2016, two front-end engineering and design (FEED) contracts were awarded for the project to KBR, a technology and engineering solutions company, and JGC America, an engineering consulting company. Both companies were tasked with running parallel FEED programmes and preparing lump-sum turnkey proposals to support an engineering, procurement and construction contract.
In December 2017, KBR was awarded the contract to provide Pre-Notice to Proceed services for the project, following the completion of the FEED process.
MATCON Environmental, a civil contractor, was awarded a pre-construction contract in March 2017. The award initiated the first stage of a site remediation programme to satisfy health and safety, environmental and maintenance requirements ahead of construction.
In August 2018, Woodfibre LNG selected Sukwi7 Contracting Limited Partnership to carry out clean-up and demolition activities, working with its subcontractor, Vancouver Pile Driving.
Woodfibre LNG signed an engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction contract with McDermott International in November 2021.
Siemens Energy was contracted as the single solution supplier for the project in July 2022. The scope of supply includes motors, variable speed drives and the main refrigerant compressors.
In October 2022, Graham Construction, a Canadian company endorsed by the Squamish Nation, was contracted to carry out onshore work at the project site, overseeing clean-up and the removal and recycling of old concrete, rebar and rail ties.
Construction partners for the project include Bird Construction, Ledcor, Pomerleau, Kiewit and Ratio Structural Engineering.
Other contractors involved in the project are Bridgemans Services Group, ABB, State Service, MMR Group and Hilti Group, along with Hitachi Energy, Austin Fire Systems, Nance International HVACR Services, Apache Industrial and Knight Piésold. Contractors SVT and ArmaGel XGC are also involved.
