Snuneymuxw and FortisBC ally for Tilbury LNG projects

January 31, 2023, by Aida Čučuk

FortisBC Holdings, a subsidiary of Fortis Inc., the North American regulated electric and gas utility company, and Snuneymuxw First Nation of the Coast Salish People, located in the centre of Coast Salish territory, have signed an agreement to collaborate on the Tilbury projects in Canada.

According to FortisBC, the agreement respects Snuneymuxw’s rights in relation to the potential project impacts and represents a commitment to share benefits related to the Tilbury projects.

The company said that Snuneymuxw has committed to supporting Tilbury projects and participating in regulatory processes associated with the projects including the Tilbury LNG Storage Expansion project and the Tilbury Marine Jetty project.

The agreement also ensures FortisBC is supporting Snuneymuxw’s community members through educational opportunities, relevant training, and continued investments in the community.

Snuneymuxw Chief Mike Wyse said: “This agreement is important to Snuneymuxw for several reasons. FortisBC recognises the importance of a relationship with us and respects our aboriginal and treaty rights within our traditional territory and waters.”

“We know that sustainable development requires project-level decisions by government and regulators, and we support the Tilbury projects that FortisBC has developed and will build on. We look forward to working with FortisBC and other participants in this work to ensure we share and build on the opportunities before us, mutual prosperity, employment, and protection of the environment.”

FortisBC President and CEO Roger Dall’Antonia stated that the agreement marks an important milestone on the path to true collaboration on projects that make up the Tilbury expansion.

“Coming together to establish an agreement like this takes time and a lot of thoughtful discussion but I know it is worthwhile. Contributions from Snuneymuxw will ensure FortisBC can plan and build Tilbury projects that will help minimise environmental impacts and create benefits that will help support the Snuneymuxw community. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with Snuneymuxw.”

Tilbury projects are based on the expansion of the Tilbury LNG facility in Delta and consist of two phases.

The Phase 1A expansion, commissioned in 2019, added a 46,000 cubic metre storage tank and LNG liquefaction capacity of 0.25 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).

Phase 1B expansion is intended to serve the demand for LNG as a marine fuel by increasing LNG liquefaction capacity by up to 0.65 MTPA.

FortisBC explained that the Phase 2 expansion has two components and serves two functions. The first component is an additional storage tank of up to 142,400 cubic metres to provide a backup energy supply to the Lower Mainland and the second is additional liquefaction of up to approximately 2.6 MTPA which is estimated to produce LNG to help customers switch from higher carbon fuels like diesel or coal.

The Tilbury Marine Jetty is proposed by Tilbury Jetty LP, an affiliate of FortisBC, and according to FortisBC, it would be located adjacent to the Tilbury LNG facility.

The project is expected to enable ship-to-ship LNG marine fueling in the Port of Vancouver and for LNG to displace higher carbon fuels in industry and energy generation.