After two years of talking and planning, Steelhead LNG has decided to cancel plans to build an offshore liquefied natural gas terminal in the Saanich Inlet.
According to a CBC report, the proposal to build the terminal was put forth in August 2015, and if completed, it would have been able to process 6 million tons of LNG per year.
The plan, made in collaboration with the Malahat Nation, met with opposition from several concerned citizens including Adam Olsen, B.C. Green Party MLA for Saanich North and the Islands who cited pollution concerns as one of his reasons for disapproval.
Project dropped for several reasons
The terminal, which was slated to be built on Malahat Nation land in Bamberton, was scrapped for various reasons, according to Steelhead LNG.
One of the main problems was that in order to get gas natural gas to the terminal, an underwater pipeline would have to be built through an environmentally protected area, and would be very expensive.
Proposal to build terminal near Port Alberni has endured
The company is still entertaining plans to build a larger terminal – the Kwispaa LNG project – southwest of Port Alberni.
It is slated to be built in partnership with the Huu-ay-aht First Nation in Sarita Bay.
