Woodfibre LNG Ltd. has signed an engineering, procurement, fabrication, and construction (EPFC) contract with McDermott International. In addition to the EPFC work, McDermott will be responsible for commissioning and start-up.
Preinstallation is planned for early 2022, ramping up to the start of major construction in September 2023. Substantial completion is expected third-quarter 2027. Woodfibre has two offtake agreements in place with bp totaling 1.5 million tonnes/year (tpy), more than 70% of the plant's designed 2.1-million tpy output (OGJ Online, May 7, 2021).
McDermott will manage onshore construction, leveraging Canadian-based contractors and commitments included in Woodfibre LNG's impact benefit agreements with the Squamish Nation. The EPFC contract commits McDermott to Woodfibre LNG's hiring priority for qualified Squamish Nation members and local workers first, followed by British Columbians, and then Canadians.
Woodfibre LNG will be built on a former pulp mill site about 7 km west-southwest of Squamish, BC. It will use a single train driven 100% by hydroelectric power and have storage capacity of 250,000 cu m. McDermott and Woodfibre expect plant design to result in an 86% reduction of carbon dioxide emissions per tonne of LNG produced relative to typical liquefaction operations.
Woodfibre LNG is a subsidiary of Pacific Energy Corp. (Canada) Ltd.