Western Standard - Eby says 'yes' to pipeline

00:00:00.000 Good evening Western Standard viewers. I'm Nigel Hannaford and I'm down on the grounds of the

00:00:21.960 global energy show, the second largest show in the world. Only Texas is bigger. This is

00:00:29.880 an incredible gathering of the industry of more than 700 companies developing the

00:00:37.260 oil and the gas and also the politicians who need to be here.

00:00:43.520 Shannon Joseph is my guest. Shannon would you call yourself a politician? I would

00:00:50.220 not. She would not. I'd call myself a doer. Oh well there you're drawing a very

00:00:55.680 sharp distinction there Shannon. Shannon Joseph is actually the chair of Energy

00:01:01.200 for a Secure Future which is an organization dedicated to expanding the

00:01:08.640 natural gas industry in Canada and with a very special interest in indigenous

00:01:14.340 participation. Would you have described your role any differently Shannon? No I

00:01:20.280 think that's a I think that's an apt description. I would just add that we

00:01:25.380 care about Canada's global energy role where LNG is going to play this big role.

00:01:29.160 We also care about Canada learning from the rest of the world about how to have a

00:01:34.440 resilient energy system in Canada. How do we have affordable abundant energy and a

00:01:39.360 system that really delivers for Canadians all the time. But also for the Far East.

00:01:44.460 Something very significant happened in British Columbia last week which is

00:01:49.580 something I'd like you to talk about now. A pipeline. We wanted a pipeline. 0.63

00:01:53.780 Apparently we've got one. That's right and so very recently I think last week the

00:01:59.540 BC government approved the Prince... It was Friday. Oh Friday! The Prince, the BC

00:02:08.880 government approved for a substantial start of the Prince Rupert gas transmission line.

00:02:14.460 And what that means is that we're gonna have another gas pipeline in British

00:02:19.140 Columbia. We have the coastal gas link pipeline which is supplying LNG Canada

00:02:22.800 and eventually phase one will eventually supply phase two. It's gonna supply Cedar

00:02:27.840 LNG, the majority indigenous owned one. But this one is supplying a whole other

00:02:32.640 project called Cylisms LNG and the pipeline is always the hardest thing to build in

00:02:38.120 Canada. So the fact that this thing is gonna move ahead is very good news for

00:02:43.520 that other project in BC taking place and for us as a country getting more and

00:02:50.060 more into the global market for LNG. One of the things that struck me about this

00:02:54.120 project there's a little bit of a story behind it. There was already a right-of-way

00:02:57.740 approved and of course getting approvals is the thing that takes the ten years in

00:03:02.500 Canada. So how did that all fall into place? Yeah, so they had a right-of-way, they

00:03:10.540 had permitting, but they had to demonstrate that the pipeline had

00:03:16.180 substantially started construction. If they had not demonstrated that, the

00:03:20.520 permits would have expired and then they would have had to start all over. And

00:03:24.220 starting all over in 2025 would not have been a happy proposition I think for

00:03:29.020 anyone. And so fortunately for for the proponents, for the First Nation, Nishka 0.93

00:03:34.960 Nation, they they got it done and they started building, you know, in a

00:03:40.520 challenging time. They're one of their neighboring nations started not being

00:03:44.080 happy with the project even though they had an impact benefit agreement that they

00:03:47.980 had made along with the other nations on the route. But Nishka, you know, got it 0.99

00:03:52.420 done in their territory. And and now the project's gonna happen and I think will

00:03:58.260 deliver lots of benefits, not just for them, but for all the nations along the

00:04:01.760 route. And not just in terms of kind of, you know, having a project, but the the

00:04:06.720 jobs and training, there's been a lot of kind of First Nations economic upscale

00:04:11.820 because of CGL that has now been leveraged into getting that pipeline

00:04:16.800 substantially started. And it's it's just gonna be a good news story across the

00:04:22.200 board for building that capacity and a better future.

00:04:24.760 So if I understand the situation correctly, there was a company 10 years ago that got

00:04:30.760 this pipeline route approved. Correct. But couldn't or didn't proceed. Yes. It ended up

00:04:37.520 with the ownership in the hands of the Heisler Nation. Nishka. Nishka. Yes. Okay. And 0.52

00:04:44.000 that they then risked their own money to build enough pipeline under budget, under

00:04:54.000 budget and on time, which is not something you hear a lot about for Canada, right?

00:04:58.760 Which allowed the Premier of BC, who is notably anti hydrocarbon development, to say,

00:05:07.700 nevertheless, this one can go ahead. How big is it?

00:05:12.700 So I just want to say one thing about the Premier of BC, I think BC has been moving

00:05:18.200 along a spectrum of opinion on this. And so I think once upon a time, Premier EB would

00:05:24.660 never talk about natural gas, would never talk about LNG. He had a trip to Asia in kind of

00:05:31.460 his previous mandate, and started to understand what the rest of the world deals with. And

00:05:37.420 in the rest of the world, you know, if you're Korea, if you're Japan, you're importing 94%

00:05:42.860 of your energy or more. And that means you need to look around the world, who's going to give

00:05:47.980 me my energy? And you're might be relying on Russia, and they were and still do for some

00:05:53.920 of their energy. You might be relying on Qatar, you're relying on the United States, who is 0.72

00:05:58.660 now the biggest exporter of gas in the world. But you're hoping for lots of partners, because

00:06:03.620 if you put all your eggs in one basket, like Europe did with Russia, you can get a big surprise 0.94

00:06:09.820 when Russia invades Ukraine. And I think the Asians don't want that. And I think that has 1.00

00:06:15.860 started to move, I think, the political needle in BC. And the Premier was just in Asia again,

00:06:22.800 and I think is very keen for BC to be a global energy partner now.

00:06:26.660 So he's telling them over in Asia, that there is a business case.

00:06:29.900 He sure is. He knows there's a business case.

00:06:33.820 Well, would you anticipate that now that this project has received approval, others will

00:06:40.820 follow?

00:06:41.820 I think that now that this project has received approval, an LNG project that is the same size

00:06:49.940 as LNG Canada train one approximately, is going to have a way better chance of getting its final

00:06:57.700 investment decision to get built. If you can't supply the LNG facility, you can't do anything.

00:07:05.180 And I think this also bodes important for the conversation around the gas that will go into

00:07:12.060 the pipe. As we know, in Canada, we've been talking a lot about, you know, diversifying

00:07:17.220 to the world, but we need policy coherence. We, you know, we want to build baby build, but

00:07:22.300 we still have an emissions cap on the oil and gas industry that would make it hard for the

00:07:27.300 people who have to put product in that pipe to send to Asia. And so, you know, I'm hoping 0.99

00:07:32.400 that now that we have this pipeline, and another major project on the horizon, LNG Canada was the

00:07:38.080 biggest infrastructure project in the country. Cylissims can be of a similar size, that our

00:07:44.320 government in Ottawa is going to start thinking, hey, let's be coherent here, if we want to be a

00:07:49.840 global player, and change some of these policies so that our companies can have the confidence that

00:07:55.920 they can make projects to fill those pipes.

00:07:58.640 You know, what you say makes perfect sense, but even now I can sort of sense the heads shaking

00:08:06.640 at the other end of the video. No, no, they won't do that. And we could go down that rocky road if we

00:08:14.560 want it, but we won't. What I would like to ask you is why this is happening now. I'm thinking of a

00:08:23.760 time 10 years ago, when if you had asked Google for a list of LNG projects proposed in British Columbia,

00:08:34.320 you'd have probably had 20, maybe more. But anyway, certainly there was 20. Well, now we have

00:08:41.440 one actually in operation. And the Prince Rupert gas transmission line now approved. And this is great.

00:08:52.720 Mm hmm. What happened to the rest?

00:08:55.680 Well, you know, I think a couple of things happened. One is, you know, there was a down cycle overall in

00:09:04.640 oil and gas after 2014. And that was around the time we were getting started and the United States

00:09:10.400 was getting started. But there was that demand for energy anyway. And we and it's not a secret,

00:09:16.480 certainly not a secret to your viewers, Canada does not have a very friendly policy environment.

00:09:21.440 And so I think a combination of and Canada is already more expensive to build things, right? Whereas the

00:09:28.000 United States, if you're in the Gulf Coast, it's flat, it's warm all year, you can build very quickly,

00:09:35.200 in northern British Columbia, there's a giant mountain range, it's freezing, you know, shorter

00:09:42.160 construction season, higher costs. I thought, I think there were a lot of questions unresolved

00:09:47.600 about how to ensure First Nations benefited from these projects. And so there was opposition to some

00:09:52.240 of the projects that were in there. And there was a lot of reputational damage to Canada, with these

00:09:57.360 projects kind of falling apart when we had such good resource. But, um,

00:10:02.080 but I think you just said the magic word there then, ensuring indigenous representation and benefit.

00:10:08.960 Now, with this Prince Rupert line, how important was that for the

00:10:14.640 I think it was extremely important. Because again, like Coastal Gas Link, that pipeline has impact

00:10:22.960 benefit agreements for the nations along the route. And, you know, as we are seeing now,

00:10:28.640 with the recent deal that Enbridge did, where they sold ownership and existing gas pipelines,

00:10:35.920 those benefit agreements, maybe someday in the future, and I'm not a, you know, I'm not a proponent

00:10:41.360 or anything like that, are eligible for those kinds of, of ownership sharing and things like that.

00:10:46.800 But they have to exist first. And I think, um, now that we're in a world where people see that these

00:10:52.320 things are possible, they're trying, they're, they're looking out First Nations, they're looking

00:10:56.640 at another, they're looking at what's a long opportunity, what's a long-term opportunity if we

00:11:01.040 work together with this company to make this thing happen? And how will it benefit our people for the

00:11:05.680 long-term? So I think that's an important part of it. Um, but I'd still say, Nigel, in, in that first

00:11:11.680 phase of things, we also kind of, things kind of fell apart, um, policy-wise when the new government,

00:11:18.560 the new Liberal government came in in 2015, because they put in a lot of policies with a view of,

00:11:25.200 frankly, shrinking the industry.

00:11:29.360 So, to, to go back to something you said five minutes ago,

00:11:33.600 we really need to lift the emissions cap.

00:11:36.640 Yes.

00:11:36.960 If that does not get lifted, all of this is great as far as it goes. This pipeline,

00:11:42.240 I think you said, is drawing from the Montney in BC.

00:11:45.040 Yes.

00:11:45.520 There is some possibility, your word was optionality.

00:11:50.480 I'm going to work that into an editorial soon.

00:11:52.400 Optionality, it's a great word.

00:11:53.600 Uh, I, I'm going to work that in. But, uh, so there's some possibility that this could

00:11:58.480 be good for Alberta gas as well.

00:12:00.080 You know, today, Alberta gas is part of the United States, uh, LNG success story. We,

00:12:08.960 we send a, you know, seven to 10% of the U.S. gas supply is Canadian gas.

00:12:15.280 And Tourmaline was kind of the front runner in this, but ARC, and most recently Canadian Natural,

00:12:21.200 have deals with Chenier in the Gulf Coast.

00:12:23.360 Mm-hmm.

00:12:23.840 And they're going to, they're going to be supplying Europe. 0.70

00:12:25.840 They are supplying Europe today. Uh, the companies that are already getting gas down there.

00:12:30.240 And so that's been good for Alberta gas.

00:12:33.120 I think having a pipeline now, two pipelines going towards the, the BC coast, um, is going

00:12:39.280 to create, uh, great options for our producers. And, um, and again, on the environmental issue,

00:12:46.320 because I don't want people to think, oh, well, they just don't care. Uh, on the environmental issue,

00:12:51.280 we can't forget the biggest lift on the emissions is displacing high emitting fuels in Asia. And,

00:12:58.240 um, you know, when we shut down our, our production in Canada, the coal plant,

00:13:04.320 the coal fire plant construction in China could wipe that out. And in three weeks,

00:13:08.160 all the emissions we think we saved, they've replaced. And there's one planet. And on this

00:13:13.600 planet, there are still millions of people who don't have the energy they need to refrigerate,

00:13:18.800 to sterilize medical equipment, to live, to get, you know, to read books at night when the sun sets.

00:13:24.960 And that is the problem people are solving. And when they start to solve that problem,

00:13:30.480 they will be a greater ally to us in protecting the environment and all the rest of it. But

00:13:35.360 Canada can be such an important player in helping millions of people solve that problem. And in doing

00:13:42.160 so protecting not only the atmosphere, but forests that get burned down for fuel and all the rest of

00:13:48.240 it. I mean, and, and what I'm hoping and I'm excited about is that both federally and all the

00:13:53.360 provincial governments are starting to have this bigger vision. And we need to hold that bigger vision,

00:13:58.240 because I would say the First Nations who have been partners in these projects, they have had that

00:14:03.040 bigger vision, they have been partnering with industry to advance that vision. And so it's time to

00:14:08.800 all get behind it. Last question, Shannon, when does the gas start flowing through the Prince Rupert line,

00:14:15.840 if everything goes according to plan? Well, that's, that's a really good question. And it's not

00:14:21.920 completely certain. I mean, right now, Silisim's LNG, I think has about two buyers that are, you know,

00:14:28.880 known for buying their gas, they still have to book buyers for more of the volume that would come out of

00:14:36.400 that project than they currently have. But that work continues. And I think gas will start going flowing

00:14:45.440 in that line. When they've found those buyers, and they've secured those deals, and they build that

00:14:53.200 plant, then the gas will flow, you know, it could, it could be a few years, probably more than five years,

00:15:00.160 maybe I don't know, I don't want to say anything. But right now is the time to be selling the gas.

00:15:06.160 In Asia, there are many contracts, long term contracts that these countries have had with

00:15:11.280 Russia, they start expiring in 2029. We still have a pretty high spot price for gas globally,

00:15:18.000 that's going to encourage these new long term contracts. And so Canada should be laser focused on

00:15:23.840 making those deals, getting in there, replacing those Russian contracts, and, and having those deals

00:15:31.200 in place that will make it possible to FID these projects, and, and get them built. When they're built,

00:15:36.880 the gas will be be flowing. And if the rest of the project goes the way that first section of pipe went,

00:15:43.280 then maybe it'll get done pretty quickly. But we need to be really focused on making it happen.

00:15:48.880 Shannon, a very big part of what you do is, is making that happen, making the quiet connections

00:15:54.880 in the background that bring people together, give them confidence, and develop opportunities. It's,

00:16:01.200 it's God's work. Congratulations. And let's stay in touch on this.

00:16:06.080 Thank you so much.

00:16:07.440 For the Western Standard, I'm Nigel Hannaford.

00:16:18.880 Thank you so much.

Western Standard - June 13, 2025

Eby says 'yes' to pipeline

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