18/07/25
Canada eyes Hudson Bay LNG project to bypass US
Calgary, 18 July (Argus) — In a calculated bid to diversify its natural gas
exports beyond the US, Canada is reviving one of its oldest trade routes —
through Hudson Bay — with plans for a modern deep-water port and LNG export
terminal led by an indigenous-owned consortium. NeeStaNan, a 100pc First Nation
initiative majority-owned by Fox Lake Cree Nation, received federal
authorization earlier this month from the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) to
export LNG from Port Nelson in northern Manitoba. The group is now conducting a
feasibility study to develop a multi-functional, year-round port near the
historic site on the western shore of Hudson Bay, once a key artery during the
country's fur trade era. The project is seen not only as a strategic export
initiative but also as a significant act of reconciliation with indigenous
peoples that have been marginalized for more than a century. The name
"NeeStanNan" translates to "all of us" in the Cree language. "This is about
reclaiming our place in Canada's economic future," said Morris Beardy, chief of
Fox Lake Cree Nation. "Canada offers a stable, trustworthy political environment
and is a natural choice for clean, responsibly produced, competitively priced
energy supplies." Canada presently exports roughly 8 Bcf/d (226mn m3/d) of gas
to the US by pipeline, which remains its dominant customer. But under prime
minister Mark Carney's proposed infrastructure fast-track initiative, or Bill
C-5, projects deemed in the "national interest" — including pipelines, railways
and ports — would be accelerated to counter rising protectionism in the US and
open new corridors to global markets, specifically Europe. On Thursday, the
first of three shipments from the newly-commissioned LNG Canada terminal at
Kitimat, British Columbia, arrived in South Korea. The second is to arrive in
Japan this week. The Port Nelson project represents an about-face for Carney's
Liberal Party, whose former leader Justin Trudeau infamously insisted there was
"no business case" for exporting Canadian LNG to countries such as Germany,
despite assertions from former chancellor Olaf Scholz to the contrary. According
to the NeeStaNan website, shipping distances to Rotterdam and other EU ports are
shorter than the US Gulf coast. Nelson is considered more favorable than the
Port of Churchill, located 150 miles (240 kilometres) to the north and is
already utilized for exporting grain, because it offers year-round ice free
access to large ocean going vessels. The Port Nelson plan includes the
construction of a 94-mile heavy rail spur connecting the site to the existing
Hudson Bay Railway near Gillam, Manitoba. NeeStaNan said upgrading the line
would enable LNG and other commodities such as potash, ore, grain, and hydrogen
— and even crude from Alberta's oil sands — to be shipped directly to tidewater,
bypassing bottlenecks in traditional west coast routes. On 8 February, NeeStaNan
signed a memorandum of understanding with Northern Prince LNG to evaluate
building an LNG terminal at the site, pending the outcome of the study. The
study will also explore long-distance pipeline options to Hudson Bay, signaling
Canada's renewed commitment to both energy exports and Indigenous-led
nation-building. By Shaun Polczer Send comments and request more information at
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