Ottawa Invests C$200 Million in Woodfibre LNG to Lift Capacity Toward 2.6 Million Tonnes a Year

Canada will invest C$200 million in Woodfibre LNG, the export plant under construction at Squamish, British Columbia, to lift its target output from 2.1 million tonnes a year to between 2.5 and 2.6 million, Natural Resources Canada said on Friday.

Energy and Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson announced the funding. The Canadian Press reported that the money will be paid over three years. The Natural Resources Canada release calls it an investment and does not say whether it takes the form of a grant, a loan or an equity stake, so the effect on the project's ownership is not yet public.

The new target is 19 to 24 percent above the original design. Operations are expected to begin in late 2027, and the government tied the funding to its goal of doubling trade with countries other than the United States. The release says the plant will employ 1,500 people on site at peak construction and 100 full-time staff once it operates.

Enbridge and Pacific Energy own the plant, and BP holds the offtake

Pacific Energy Corporation Limited owns 70 percent of the project, and Enbridge holds the other 30 percent, according to Enbridge's project page. Enbridge puts its share of capital costs at US$2.9 billion and lists 2027 as the in-service year. The stake sits alongside the backlog Enbridge detailed with its third-quarter results on Nov. 6.

The same page says BP Gas Marketing Limited holds 15-year offtake agreements for all of the plant's capacity, and that McDermott International received the notice to proceed for engineering and construction. Enbridge lists the plant at 2.1 million tonnes a year. Neither Enbridge's page nor the federal release says who would take the added 0.4 to 0.5 million tonnes.

Oil Authority's arithmetic puts the federal money at C$400 to C$500 for each annual tonne of added capacity, found by dividing C$200 million by the increase. The release says the money also pays for reliability, efficiency and production work and for exploring a potential second phase, so the figure is a rough yardstick, not the price of the extra tonnes.

Squamish Nation keeps its regulatory role over the plant

Woodfibre LNG is the first major industrial project in Canadian history approved through a non-treaty, Indigenous-led environmental assessment, according to the release. The Squamish Nation approved it under an agreement with 25 legally binding conditions. Ottawa issued a 40-year natural gas export licence to Woodfibre LNG Limited in 2017, Natural Resources Canada said at the time.

Sxwíxwtn Wilson Williams, chairperson of the Squamish Nation, said in the release that the nation "holds a unique and independent regulatory role over Woodfibre LNG, and our agreement will apply to every aspect of this project, today and into the future." The release does not say whether the higher target requires changes to that agreement or to the export licence.

Separately, the project has permit applications before the BC Energy Regulator. Woodfibre LNG submitted an air emissions permit application to the BC Energy Regulator on Oct. 29 and a stormwater and drainage permit application on Nov. 5, according to its news page. That page lists no decision on either.

Ottawa and Woodfibre LNG pitch the funding as a national project

Hodgson said in the release that "we need to make strategic investments to turn these advantages into lasting economic strength, energy security and well-paying jobs for Canadians." The release says the investment builds on the objectives of Budget 2026 and links to the government's Investing in Liquefied Natural Gas program page.

Luke Schauerte, chief executive officer of Woodfibre LNG, said in the same release: "We welcome the Government of Canada's continued investment in Canada's LNG opportunity and are proud to play a leading role in our country's emergence as a global energy superpower."

The next concrete steps are the BC Energy Regulator's decisions on the two permit applications and the start of operations that Woodfibre LNG has set for late 2027. Terms of the C$200 million, including its form and payment schedule, have not been published.