Shareholders Approve LNG Canada Expansion To Double Export Capacity

What was approved and the timing

Shareholders in the Shell-led LNG Canada project gave the go-ahead for a second phase at the export terminal in Kitimat on Canada's West Coast. According to Shell, once complete the expansion would bring total capacity to 28 million metric tons per year, and the new phase is slated to begin commercial service in the early 2030s. In June 2025, the West Coast facility produced its first LNG.

Money, ownership and partners

Ottawa pegs the cost of Phase 2 at roughly $23 billion. Shell holds a 40% stake. The joint venture also includes Petroliam Nasional Bhd, PetroChina Co., Mitsubishi Corp. and Korea Gas Corp. Korea Gas owns 5% and plans to invest about $1.26 billion.

MidOcean Energy, part of private equity firm EIG, has an interest through Petronas. Abu Dhabi's XRG is exploring a stake purchase and has held talks with existing partners, including PetroChina, about buying portions of their Phase 1 holdings, according to reporting earlier this month.

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Market forces and why the timing matters

Asian buyers are staring at the most severe supply shock in recent memory. The conflict involving Iran and the near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz have triggered an extraordinary squeeze in global energy markets, prompting LNG buyers to secure cargoes beyond the Middle East and boosting suppliers from the US to Nigeria. Over the course of this year, gas prices in many parts of the world have risen because the Iran war has nearly halted LNG shipments from the Persian Gulf, turning a previously expected glut into a shortfall.

Canada's West Coast location gives LNG Canada a shorter path to Asia's biggest LNG buyers without transiting major shipping chokepoints. Prime Minister Mark Carney has said Canada is well positioned to help meet demand, and last year he placed the LNG expansion proposal among "nation-building" developments.

Strategy and what to watch

Tuesday's move reinforces Shell's push to expand in LNG, a fuel many global majors pitch as a bridge in the energy transition despite a turbulent few years for prices. Keep an eye on whether XRG moves ahead with a stake purchase, and on how additional Canadian volumes could reroute trade to Asia as Phase 2 advances toward an early-2030s start. For your wallet, the takeaway is simple: more supply options to Asia can influence global price swings, which show up in utility bills and the cost of heating and power-intensive goods.

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