LNG Canada outlines jobs, construction plans for Phase 2 in Kitimat

LNG Canada outlines jobs, construction plans for Phase 2 in Kitimat

Published 10:30 pm Tuesday, September 29, 2026

LNG Canada’s Phase 2 expansion will mean another major construction project in Kitimat, with two new processing trains, additional storage and loading infrastructure and up to 4,000 construction jobs at the site during peak construction.

Once the expansion is operating, LNG Canada expects to add about 90 permanent positions and 150 contractor jobs in Kitimat. The existing operation has more than 400 permanent full-time employees.

The physical changes will be substantial. Phase 2 will add two LNG processing units, or trains, another LNG storage tank, a condensate tank and another loading berth. Utility and processing systems will also be expanded as LNG Canada doubles production capacity from 14 million to 28 million tonnes annually.

LNG Canada has not released dates for the start of construction or completion of Phase 2, leaving the timing of those employment and construction effects unclear.

“With FID secured, Phase 2 will double LNG Canada’s capacity from 14 to 28 million tonnes a year,” LNG Canada president and CEO Chris Cooper said.

Shell, PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi Corporation and KOGAS announced the final investment decision on the expansion Sept. 29. The additional infrastructure will be built within LNG Canada’s existing Kitimat footprint, which was designed from the outset to accommodate four processing trains.

For Kitimat, the decision creates another period of large-scale construction at the LNG Canada site following Phase 1. LNG Canada said more than 50,000 Canadians contributed to construction of the first phase.

“But Phase 2 is about much more than tonnes. It will create thousands of jobs and further strengthen Canada’s role as a trusted energy partner,” Cooper said.

Opportunities associated with the expansion are also expected to extend beyond direct employment at the Kitimat site. LNG Canada said Phase 2 will support contracting and business opportunities in northern B.C. and supply chains connected to the project, although it did not provide a local breakdown of those opportunities.

The expansion will also require more capacity on the 670-kilometre Coastal GasLink pipeline that supplies the Kitimat facility. LNG Canada has entered commercial agreements to serve as execution manager while working with Coastal GasLink to build five new compressor stations. That work is expected to require about 2,100 workers.

Phase 2 also opens the way for a potential Indigenous ownership stake in new infrastructure at the Kitimat site.

An equity option announced July 14 allows MNT Investments LP to invest up to $1 billion in a special-purpose entity that will purchase the new LNG storage tank planned as part of the expansion. MNT Investments is a partnership of the economic development organizations of Gitga’at Nation, Gitxaała Nation, Haisla Nation, Kitselas First Nation and Kitsumkalum First Nation.

LNG Canada describes the transaction as one of the largest Indigenous ownership positions in major Canadian infrastructure. The Kitimat facility is in the traditional territory of the Haisla Nation.

LNG Canada estimates, together with the B.C. and federal governments, that Phase 2 could generate more than $50 billion in government revenues over the life of the project, including taxes, royalties and revenues associated with direct and indirect economic activity.

Statements from LNG Canada’s joint venture partners accompanying the investment decision pointed to growing Asian demand and energy security as reasons for proceeding with the expansion.