Panel discussion examines new Canadian LNG joint venture

On November 27, 2018, UCalgary Law hosted a panel discussion, in partnership with Dentons Canada LLP, on the progress to date on the single largest private sector investment in Canadian history: LNG Canada. The $40-billion project could handle up to a third of the gas production in Western Canada. The project promises to increase global supplies of LNG by 10%.

LNG Canada is comprised of the five global energy companies – Shell Canada Limited, Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi, and KOGAS - with substantial experience in liquefied natural gas (LNG). Through the joint venture, the companies are proposing to design, build and operate an LNG export terminal in Kitimat, BC.

The panel, made up of Stephanie Uhlich, Legal Director, LNG Canada, Lisa Jamieson, Senior Counsel, LNG Canada, and Ryan Konotopsky, Managing Counsel, Upstream, Shell Canada Limited explored the development of the joint venture, and how the project fits into the larger scheme of Canadian energy development.

The panel explained that, in light of competing demands for greater energy supply and lower carbon emissions, LNG will probably provide the balance through the 21st century. It will continue to replace coal in the global energy mix, supplying more than 50 energy importing countries with the option of meeting the supply gap between renewable power capacity and energy demand with the best available alternative.

While there are several other LNG projects at various stages of development across British Columbia, LNG Canada will be the first to come online. The project’s competitive advantage is based on several factors, including an eight-day sailing time to Asian markets from Kitimat, a brownfield location in Kitimat, and a low-cost supply from sources in the province.

“This panel lecture provided an excellent example of The Calgary Curriculum,” says Dr. Fenner Stewart, PhD, professor in the law school and lead on the Dentons’ International Law Study Tour. “Stephanie Uhlich and her team of senior legal architects explained their roles in putting together this massively complex energy project: from the negotiation process to creating a workable business structure to the challenges of meeting regulatory requirements in Canada today. Such lectures represent our law school’s commitment to teaching innovation, offering students the knowledge-in-application that will help them to excel in tomorrow’s legal market. I would like to thank Shell Canada and Dentons Canada, whose generous support made this lecture possible.”