Chevron is seeking approval for its plans for a LNG export facility on the Pacific Coast of Canada to move toward an all-electric design that would result in the lowest greenhouse-gas emissions per tonne of any LNG facility in the world.
Chevron and its partner Woodside Petroleum Ltd. announced earlier this year they would apply to expand the capacity of their LNG project in Kitimat, British Columbia, by as much as 80% to 18 million metric tonnes a year.
The proposed plant, “will achieve the lowest emissions intensity of any large-scale LNG facility in the world,” according to the project description. Kitimat LNG will produce less than 0.1 tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent for every tonne of LNG. When compared to the global average of more than 0.3 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, the plant emissions would be significantly lower.
Traditional LNG is created by cooling gas to -260 degrees Fahrenheit (-127 degrees Celsius) in an energy-intensive process, powered by burning natural gas. Kitimat LNG proposes electric motor drives instead, totaling 700 megawatts to run all liquefaction, utility compressors, pumps and fans with hydropower.
Chevron and Woodside expect to make a final investment decision in 2022 to 2023 with production starting by 2029.
Image Credit: Ben Nelms/Bloomberg.