17 Comments
User's avatar
DW Davis's avatar

LNG ships look so strange, as if they’re carrying spacecraft to a secret launching site.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

They do look like something out of a Bond movie.

But instead of launching rockets, they’re launching export revenue.

Not as cinematic... but probably more profitable.

Keith Power's avatar

I do wonder if the LNG tanker from Australia to Halifax was more of a symbolic gesture then a need. Was it a little back hand to the US, saying us middle powers can do things without you? There is a lot of gas on the East Coast with existing pipelinnes to Central Canada in place, it just needs extracion.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Could’ve been symbolic Keith. Governments do that.

But energy isn’t chess theatre... it’s math.

If East Coast extraction makes economic sense and buyers are lined up, it’ll happen. If not, it won’t. LNG terminals don’t get built on vibes.

The real power move isn’t symbolism.

It’s long-term contracts.

Keith Power's avatar

Agreed.

Zoe's avatar

Isn’t fracking dangerous and harmful to the environment?

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Everything in energy has trade-offs.

The question isn’t whether there’s impact... there always is.

The question is whose standards you trust.

Global demand for gas isn’t disappearing tomorrow. If Canada supplies it under strict rules, emissions are generally lower than coal and many alternative sources.

That’s the policy reality governments are dealing with.

Patsy Rideout's avatar

We only have one speedbump here ... in Alberta, if they are still dumb enough to continue the BS about leaving Canada, then the rest of Canada will have set them up for an awesome revenue flow!!! BC is the best option in that case...?

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

Nobody wins from internal division Patsy.

The gas is in Alberta.

The ports are in BC.

The customers are overseas.

That triangle only works when Canada works.

Patsy Rideout's avatar

Thanks Fred, sad really :( Our PM has the contract, he doesn't have to give it to her if she persists. Of course we have loads of oil in Newfoundland as well...

David Marshland's avatar

Shame all the shipping projects are on the Pacific coast. Not ideally placed for a Gulf shut down.

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

That’s intentional David.

Asia is where the long-term demand is, and the Pacific route is faster and cheaper from Western Canada than from the Gulf of Mexico.

Europe would require a whole different build-out on the Atlantic side... which may still happen someday if the economics line up.

Energy projects follow markets, not maps.

David Marshland's avatar

Thanks. Good morning from Europe.

I understood why. Apart from anything else, the pipeline runs to the coast are also going to be a lot shorter.

But seen from Europe it’s still a shame.

As North Sea reserves run down, the pressure to import from Russia will grow again, particularly if Putin’s assault on UKraine ever finishes.

Ian MacDonald's avatar

Yeah and the terminal would likely be mostly built in South Korea and then shipped and the pipeline built by Texas based Western LNG. What a great deal...

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

We’re not selling pipelines Ian.

We’re selling what’s in the ground.

Nobody ships Canadian gas to Asia without paying Canada... through royalties, taxes, wages, and contracts... no matter who welds the metal.

The value is the resource, not the construction invoice.

Jim Veinot's avatar

Canada wants to be in the LNG business, not the terminal building or pipeline business. If these capacities are built by foreign companies they will still have to employ Canadians. So yes, it is a great deal. Canada gets the royalties, Canadians get employment. As a bonus this is a sweetener for South Korea in future business. (think automotive)

Fred Ferguson (GeezerWise)'s avatar

You nailed the core point Jim.

We’re selling molecules in the ground that nobody else can access without us.

Whether the investor is Canadian, Korean, or European, the gas still comes from Canada, the workers are still Canadian, and the revenue still lands here.

Resource leverage is national leverage.