The LNG plant planned in Kitimat, pictured above, is expected to increase natural gas industry revenues in British Columbia, which would benefit the province’s commercial centre, Vancouver
The management of Canada’s oil and gas industry has become, over the past few decades, ever more concentrated in Calgary. To many, Imperial Oil’s 2005 move from Toronto sealed the deal.
But that pattern is now showing some notable exceptions. Giants of the energy industry are suddenly setting up offices in Vancouver instead, and it looks like they’re here to stay.
Alberta in general and Calgary specifically have for years stood apart in Canada for having the highest per capita GDP, the lowest unemployment rates and the most rapid population growth among all provinces and cities, respectively, in the country.
The source of Alberta’s and by extension Calgary’s wealth has been its large petroleum industry, which has experienced growth in recent years as production in Northern Alberta’s oil sands has increased.
Canadian Business magazine says that newly discovered natural gas fields in northern Alberta and British Columbia, and the planned construction of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) conversion and export plants in Kitimat and Prince Rupert in B.C.’s northern coast, have attracted Vancouver the same type of attention from energy companies that Calgary has enjoyed for years:
Not only the terminals but most of the source wells and pipeline infrastructure will be located in B.C., making the provincial government the principal regulator. So it makes sense for companies to run their operations close to Victoria, and even closer to the contractors, suppliers and a potentially hostile public. “You could see B.C. double its natural gas production, and all of that would go toward LNG,” says Greg Kist, vice-president of marketing at Progress Energy. “It indicates that there is going to be significant pace of investment in Vancouver.” Kist expects his company’s West Coast office will in time have 200 employees.
It addition to natural gas production and transport, B.C.’s position in between Alberta and the Pacific Coast makes it an important pathway for oil pipelines, a fact that has spurred Calgary-based Enbridge, which operates the largest pipeline system in the world, to recently decide to open an office in Vancouver.
Immigrants already account for 40 percent of the Greater Vancouver Regional District’s population. If the city experiences an energy boom on the scale of what Calgary has undergone, that would make it all the more alluring to immigrants and Canadians from other regions of the country.
Gee another puff piece for pissant Vancouver and redundant never been British Columbia.Being a former “puddle jumper” I say with all conviction that British Columbia and Vancouver are finished and spent.Just google on to “Countries with the largest Natural Gas reserves” and you will discover that Canada ranks 20th and has far less reserves of natural gas than Malaysia or Indonesia.Yet there are dreamers out there who think that pissant British Columbia could become a player in the LNG biz.To which I say…in your freaking dreams! Vancouver is a doomed town anyway…a magnitude 10 or 12 earthquake will one day,hopefully soon,annihilate this over rated urban cess pool and the likelihood of a loser such as Vancouver being able to duplicate Calgary or even Moose Jaw is highly improbable.The atrocious housing prices,the crime and grime and the incessant rain for eight months a year make old Vanloser a very hard sell.Add to that an incompetent provincial government with a dimwit Premier who can`t even complete a political ballot properly and who breaks the law by “running red lights” and you have the recipe for a unmitigated disaster.And this challenged little woman is also a college drop out…in fact Clark was booted out of one university and did not graduate from the other two.British Columbia has the stench of failure all over it and it is the most over rated,over hyped pile of shit in all of Canada.In fact British Columbia is the most failed jurisdiction in all of Canada in many respects with the second highest rate of child poverty in Canada.Your little puff piece is just blatant “tire pumping” for a third rate,two bit wort of a province which is economically doomed.You will be fortunate if one LNG facility is built in the forlorn,dank wastes of Prince Rupert and British Columbia will continue to slide into the abyss and will be consumed.British Columbia is a write off.
Just to put things in proper perspective within the Canadian context,Alberta possesses five times the amount of natural gas that useless,pissant British Crumbia can lay claim toward.No one in their right mind would want to either live or do business in a hick urban outhouse such as Vancouver.
2.5 million people and more moving here daily would bag to differ.
Enjoy your frigid temperatures alberta.