(Reuters) -Shell has entered into a deal to buy two million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year from Ksi Lisims LNG, partners in the Canadian project said on Monday, as the energy giant looks to strengthen its LNG portfolio in Canada.
Under the deal, volumes will be supplied from the floating facility in British Columbia and will serve mainly customers in Asia, the partners said.
British Columbia's Pacific coast is close to Canada's vast Montney shale field and Asian markets, which is a top importer of the commodity. Shell (LON:RDSa), which is looking to increase its LNG volumes by 20% to 30% by the end of the decade, has interests in another project in British Columbia called LNG Canada.
That project is set to be Canada's first LNG export facility and would produce 14 million tonnes of LNG a year with shipments beginning in 2025. Ksi Lisims LNG has filed an application with the government of British Columbia for an environmental certificate in Oct. last year, and is awaiting regulatory approval for the deal. The facility, a co-development of the Nisga'a Nation, Rockies LNG Partnership and Western LNG, will produce 12 million tonnes of LNG annually from two floating LNG production and storage facilities in Northwest Canada. "The Ksi Lisims LNG project will provide energy markets in Asia with low-carbon, reliable energy that helps transition from higher emitting fuels to meet growing energy needs and supports continued growth in intermittent renewables such as wind and solar," CEO of Rockies LNG Charlotte Raggett said.