Open Letter to the Prime Minister, Provincial Premiers, Leaders of the Energy Industries, and First Nations of Canada — by Krishnan Suthanthiran, President, Kitsault Energy and Best Cure Foundation
Vancouver, BC, and Springfield, VA, Jan. 27, 2016 /CNW Telbec/ – On January 21st, 2016, the National Energy Board of Canada authorized a 20-year permit for Kitsault Energy to export 20 million tons of LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) per year from Kitsault, located North West of British Columbia (BC), Canada. It is about 800 km (500 miles) north of Vancouver, BC and about 140 km (85 miles) north of Prince Rupert, BC, Canada.
Kitsault Energy (KE) first announced their project on January 8, 2013, with the goal of establishing a Dedicated Energy Corridor (DEC) from Fort Nelson and Dawson Creek, BC to Kitsault, BC to ship energy products from Alberta, British Columbia, and Saskatchewan to Asia and Latin America. Now, TransCanada and Spectra are in the process of obtaining approvals for multiple pipelines for natural gas (48″ diameter), either going via or near Kitsault, making the goals of Kitsault Energy closer to reality. KE is the first company to promote a DEC from Northeast to Northwest British Columbia. Also, KE is the first company to promote a 48″ diameter pipeline in February 2013; and now other companies are planning the same. KE hopes to work with one of the two pipeline companies, Spectra or TransCanada, for their pipeline construction, possibly using one of their permits. KE is continuing to have discussions with both of them, as they have done a few years of work in moving the process forward.
The time to ship energy products from Kitsault to Asia (China, Japan, and Korea) by tankers is about one week, and to South and Southeast Asia will be between 10 days to two weeks. With reduced shipping times compared to other popular ports, KE's shipping costs are expected to be significantly lower, as there are no toll canals, such as the Panama Canal, Suez Canal or other narrow channels of water, that need to be navigated. Such canals and channels have toll fees and waiting times, which are likely to cause delays and will add to the total cost of shipping.
KE is planning for a floating (FLNG) or land-based facility at Kitsault in increments of 4–5 million tons of LNG per FLNG ship or train. KE's goal is to become an integrated energy company, so they can be their own customer for a range of energy products by establishing their own downstream use. This vertical integration ensures a higher probability of success. Also, KE will be the lowest-cost producer of LNG and shipper of any of the energy products from Kitsault — giving KE a unique advantage over similar projects in Prince Rupert or Kitimat.
The following are cost estimates for various pipeline projects in Canada and the US:
For more information about Kitsault Energy, please visit www.kitsaultenergy.com. To read Krish Suthanthiran's bio, please visit www.teambest.com/about_bio.html.
SOURCE Kitsault Energy