The developers of the proposed Ksi Lisims LNG project in British Columbia announced on September 16 that the venture had received two separate regulatory approvals. The project has obtained an environmental assessment certificate from the BC provincial government and a federal approval from the Canadian government.

The announcement came a day after the BC and federal governments confirmed their approvals Ksi Lisims LNG in separate announcements. The approvals came after BC's Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) conducted an assessment on behalf of the federal government under the Impact Assessment Act (IAA) and taking a “one project, one review” approach. This approach is aimed at expediting project development by eliminating the duplication of assessments for projects.

The approvals clear the way for Ksi Lisims to proceed to construction, with the company saying this could happen before the end of 2025.

The federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada noted that this was the first such assessment to be approved under the amended IAA and BC's Environmental Assessment Act. Two other projects are currently under review using the same process, the agency added. This is also the first such major project to be approved under the tenure of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who wants to expedite the development of resource projects.

Ksi Lisims is being developed by the indigenous Nisga’a Nation, along with the Rockies LNG partnership of natural gas producers and Western LNG, which is funded by Blackstone. The developer group is proposing to build a floating liquefaction facility with a capacity of 12mn tonnes per year (tpy) of LNG. The facility was previously estimated to cost CAD10bn ($7.3bn) to build as of 2021, when it was first proposed, but costs may have since risen.

The project will also be designed to be one of the world’s lowest-emission LNG facilities, according to the Ksi Lisims partners, and will be powered by renewable hydroelectricity.

The BC provincial approval for the project comes with conditions including a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions plan to align with the province’s net zero policy.