Ksi Lisims Floating LNG Project, Canada

The Ksi Lisims LNG Project is a proposed Floating Liquefied Natural Gas (FLNG) and marine terminal facility in British Columbia, Canada.

The proponents of the project are Nisga’a Nation, Rockies LNG and Western LNG.

The project proponents filed the initial project description for the Ksi Lisims LNG project with the Government of British Columbia and the Government of Canada in July 2021.

The Detailed Project Description (DPD) was filed and posted by the British Columbia (BC) Environmental Assessment Office in April 2022. According to the report, the capital cost for the project is estimated to be between C$8.3bn and C$9bn.

In December 2022, the Canada Energy Regulator granted a 40-year LNG export licence to the proposed FLNG facility.

The project received its process order from the B.C. Environmental Assessment Office (BCEAO) in July 2023. The milestone will enable Ksi Lisims LNG to complete a full application for an environmental assessment certificate, which is slated for submission later in 2023.

Construction works for the facility may begin in 2024, following the receipt of approvals and final investment decision by the project partners.

The project will then become on stream in 2028, and is expected to remain in operations for at least 30 years.

Once complete, Ksi Lisims LNG will have a capacity of 12 million tonnes of LNG per year. The facility is expected to export the LNG to the markets in the Pacific basin, primarily in Asia where the demand for cleaner fuels is on the rise.

Ksi Lisims LNG Location

The Ksi Lisims LNG Project will be located at a site called Wil Milit, at the northern end of Pearse Island in British Colombia.

The project will be based on Category A Land (District Lots 5431 and 7235) that is owned in fee simple by the Nisga’a Nation.

The site is around 15km west of the Nisga’a community of Gingolx. It primarily comprises undeveloped land and lies adjacent to established shipping routes.

Ksi Lisims LNG Project Infrastructure

The primary components of the project will two permanently installed floating LNG production, storage and off-loading barges (FLNGs) with a combined nominal capacity of 12 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

The two units will have aggregate storage capacity of approximately 450,000m³ of LNG.

Each FLNG will have feed gas treatment systems comprising acid gas removal unit, dehydration unit, and mercury removal unit; multiple single mixed refrigerant liquefaction trains fitted with natural gas liquefaction system, heavy hydrocarbon removal system, condensate stabilisation and storage, and refrigerant storage.

The other components of FLNGs are mooring systems, LNG ship-to-ship offloading equipment, boil off gas management system, emergency flaring systems, and other utilities.

The other key components of the project will include feed gas receiving facility, site natural gas distribution piping, substations, electricity distribution systems, water and waste-water treatment plants, solid waste management facilities, helipad, monitoring equipment, administrative buildings,  temporary power barges, two jetties and platforms among others.

The configuration and certain technologies of FLNGs and onshore components will be developed during front-end engineering and design (FEED) stage.

Operational Details

The Ksi Lisims LNG Project will be designed to operate 24 hours a day throughout the year.

It will be used to convert natural gas from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB) of north-eastern British Columbia and northwest/central Alberta into LNG.

The natural gas will be transported to the facility using a third party-owned natural gas transmission pipeline.

According to the DPD, Ksi Lisims may select TC Energy’s Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) or Enbridge’s Westcoast Connector Gas Transmission (WCGT) for the supplies.

At the FLNGs, impurities such as carbon dioxide, sulphur, hydrogen sulphide, mercury, and water will be removed from natural gas and then it will be transferred to the LNG production equipment.

The LNG production equipment will convert natural gas into LNG using liquefaction technology. A mixed refrigerant will be used through a single refrigeration loop to liquify the heavier hydrocarbons from the natural gas stream.

The heavier hydrocarbons are then transferred to a condensate stabiliser to remove any lighter hydrocarbons.

After the removal of heavier hydrocarbons, the natural gas once again enters the cold box where it will be converted to a liquid. The liquefied natural gas is then directed to the LNG storage tanks on the FLNG.

The remaining heavy hydrocarbons are called condensate, which will be stored in separate storage tanks.

From FLNGs storage tanks, LNG will be loaded, using STS transfer system, onto the LNG carriers (LNGCs) with capacities ranging between 140,000m³ to 217,000m³.

Additionally, condensate will be loaded to product carriers with storage capacity from 5000-30,000m³.

Ksi Lisims LNG Project is expected to have one of the lowest carbon intensities amongst large scale LNG export projects of the world. It will achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions within first three years of operations.

The project will process around 575 to 695 billion cubic feet per year (Bcf/yr) of natural gas annually and employ between 150 and 250 at site in permanent positions. Around 50 to 100 people will be based at other offices within British Columbia.

Contractors Involved

The Front-End Engineering and Design (FEED) contract for the Ksi Lisims LNG floating terminal was awarded to Black & Veatch and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) in July 2023.

Ksi Lisims picked Siemens Energy to assist with the design of liquefaction compression and associated electrical systems of the project. Other consulting services such as the connection of electromechanical systems to the external grid will also be provided by Siemens.