Canadian Energy Centre
Qatar breaks ground on massive LNG expansion, Canada’s full potential remains untapped

From the Canadian Energy Centre
‘By embracing Canadian LNG, we can play a crucial role in providing affordable, secure, and cleaner energy sources’
The world’s largest LNG project is officially underway, with the ceremonial foundation stone laid by Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on October 3.
Already one of the world’s largest LNG exporters, the North Field expansion will increase Qatar’s LNG production capacity from 77 million tonnes per year today to 126 million tonnes per year by 2026.
“This major expansion comes at a crucial time, as natural gas occupies a pivotal position in the energy mix in a world facing geopolitical turbulences and is in dire need of clean energy sources that are in line with the global environmental goals,” said Saad Sheirda Al-Kaabi, Qatar’s minister of energy and CEO of QatarEnergy.
LNG exports, which Qatar commenced in 1997, have helped elevate the country’s economy and society, says Racim Gribaa, president of Calgary-based Global LNG Consulting.
Gribaa has worked in energy for more than two decades, engaging with governments and industry in LNG developments around the world including Canada and Qatar.
“Qatar is a visionary nation that transcended poverty to prosperity through strategic planning and foresight. From humble beginnings in pearl fishing, it has emerged as one of the world’s wealthiest nations, a leader in LNG exports,” he says.
Canada is the world’s fifth largest natural gas producer but is not yet an LNG exporter.
LNG Canada will be the first export terminal, with capacity of 14 million tonnes per year. Construction is about 85 per cent complete and on track to start shipments by 2025, the project said in July. Construction of the smaller 2.1 million tonne per year Woodfibre LNG terminal is set to begin this fall.
These are promising steps demonstrating Canada’s potential, Gribaa says. But more can be done.
“By embracing Canadian LNG, we can play a crucial role in providing affordable, secure, and cleaner energy sources, thus benefiting nations while mitigating the adverse impacts of coal dependency,” he says.
Driven by expanding economies in Asia, world LNG trade has increased by more than 200 per cent since 2000, reaching 401 million tonnes in 2022, according to the International Gas Union.
Demand is expected to continue increasing, rising above 700 million tonnes in 2040, according to Shell’s latest industry outlook. This is due to population growth, expanding economies and the need to reduce reliance on coal-fired power.
Switching from coal to natural gas to generate power reduces emissions on average by about 50 per cent, according to the International Energy Agency. LNG from Canada can deliver an even bigger decrease, reducing emissions by up to 62 per cent, according to a June 2020 study published in the Journal for Cleaner Production.
Switching power generation to LNG can also significantly reduce particulate emissions, Gribaa notes.
“LNG is a fundamental part of the solution in achieving sustainable energy goals worldwide,” he says.
“There exists a considerable untapped potential for Canada (Montney, Duvernay, Horn River and Liard basins) to bolster its involvement and position itself as a key player in addressing the challenges posed by climate change and energy sustainability on a global scale.”
Canadian Energy Centre
Saskatchewan Indigenous leaders urging need for access to natural gas

Piapot First Nation near Regina, Saskatchewan. Photo courtesy Piapot First Nation/Facebook
From the Canadian Energy Centre
By Cody Ciona and Deborah Jaremko
“Come to my nation and see how my people are living, and the struggles that they have day to day out here because of the high cost of energy, of electric heat and propane.”
Indigenous communities across Canada need access to natural gas to reduce energy poverty, says a new report by Energy for a Secure Future (ESF).
It’s a serious issue that needs to be addressed, say Indigenous community and business leaders in Saskatchewan.
“We’re here today to implore upon the federal government that we need the installation of natural gas and access to natural gas so that we can have safe and reliable service,” said Guy Lonechild, CEO of the Regina-based First Nations Power Authority, on a March 11 ESF webinar.
Last year, 20 Saskatchewan communities moved a resolution at the Assembly of First Nations’ annual general assembly calling on the federal government to “immediately enhance” First Nations financial supports for “more desirable energy security measures such as natural gas for home heating.”
“We’ve been calling it heat poverty because that’s what it really is…our families are finding that they have to either choose between buying groceries or heating their home,” Chief Christine Longjohn of Sturgeon Lake First Nation said in the ESF report.
“We should be able to live comfortably within our homes. We want to be just like every other homeowner that has that choice to be able to use natural gas.”
At least 333 First Nations communities across Canada are not connected to natural gas utilities, according to the Canada Energy Regulator (CER).
ESF says that while there are many federal programs that help cover the upfront costs of accessing electricity, primarily from renewable sources, there are no comparable ones to support natural gas access.
“Most Canadian and Indigenous communities support actions to address climate change. However, the policy priority of reducing fossil fuel use has had unintended consequences,” the ESF report said.
“Recent funding support has been directed not at improving reliability or affordability of the energy, but rather at sustainability.”
Natural gas costs less than half — or even a quarter — of electricity prices in Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, according to CER data.
“Natural gas is something NRCan [Natural Resources Canada] will not fund. It’s not considered a renewable for them,” said Chief Mark Fox of the Piapot First Nation, located about 50 kilometres northeast of Regina.
“Come to my nation and see how my people are living, and the struggles that they have day to day out here because of the high cost of energy, of electric heat and propane.”
According to ESF, some Indigenous communities compare the challenge of natural gas access to the multiyear effort to raise awareness and, ultimately funding, to address poor water quality and access on reserve.
“Natural gas is the new water,” Lonechild said.
Alberta
The beauty of economic corridors: Inside Alberta’s work to link products with new markets

From the Canadian Energy Centre
Q&A with Devin Dreeshen, Minister of Transport and Economic Corridors
CEC: How have recent developments impacted Alberta’s ability to expand trade routes and access new markets for energy and natural resources?
Dreeshen: With the U.S. trade dispute going on right now, it’s great to see that other provinces and the federal government are taking an interest in our east, west and northern trade routes, something that we in Alberta have been advocating for a long time.
We signed agreements with Saskatchewan and Manitoba to have an economic corridor to stretch across the prairies, as well as a recent agreement with the Northwest Territories to go north. With the leadership of Premier Danielle Smith, she’s been working on a BC, prairie and three northern territories economic corridor agreement with pretty much the entire western and northern block of Canada.
There has been a tremendous amount of work trying to get Alberta products to market and to make sure we can build big projects in Canada again.
CEC: Which infrastructure projects, whether pipeline, rail or port expansions, do you see as the most viable for improving Alberta’s global market access?
Dreeshen: We look at everything. Obviously, pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and gas, but also rail is part of the mix of getting over four million barrels per day to markets around the world.
The beauty of economic corridors is that it’s a swath of land that can have any type of utility in it, whether it be a roadway, railway, pipeline or a utility line. When you have all the environmental permits that are approved in a timely manner, and you have that designated swath of land, it politically de-risks any type of project.
CEC: A key focus of your ministry has been expanding trade corridors, including an agreement with Saskatchewan and Manitoba to explore access to Hudson’s Bay. Is there any interest from industry in developing this corridor further?
Dreeshen: There’s been lots of talk [about] Hudson Bay, a trade corridor with rail and port access. We’ve seen some improvements to go to Churchill, but also an interest in the Nelson River.
We’re starting to see more confidence in the private sector and industry wanting to build these projects. It’s great that governments can get together and work on a common goal to build things here in Canada.
CEC: What is your vision for Alberta’s future as a leader in global trade, and how do economic corridors fit into that strategy?
Dreeshen: Premier Smith has talked about C-69 being repealed by the federal government [and] the reversal of the West Coast tanker ban, which targets Alberta energy going west out of the Pacific.
There’s a lot of work that needs to be done on the federal side. Alberta has been doing a lot of the heavy lifting when it comes to economic corridors.
We’ve asked the federal government if they could develop an economic corridor agency. We want to make sure that the federal government can come to the table, work with provinces [and] work with First Nations across this country to make sure that we can see these projects being built again here in Canada.
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