LNG Canada is preparing to give the final go-ahead to an expansion of its Kitimat, British Columbia export terminal that would double the facility's output, according to people familiar with the plans, as reported by Reuters and carried by iPolitics.

The report cites sources who say the final investment decision on the second phase of the project is close. Phase 2 would roughly double the plant's liquefaction capacity at the site on British Columbia's northwest coast, adding to the two trains already in operation at the terminal fed by the Coastal GasLink pipeline from the Montney and other Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin gas plays.

The expansion would significantly increase Canada's LNG export capacity at a time when buyers in Asia are seeking long-term supply arrangements. Kitimat sits at the end of the corridor that moves WCSB gas westward, and a second-phase sanction would firm up additional pipeline and upstream takeaway demand from the basin.

LNG Canada's partners have not made a public announcement, and the company has not confirmed the timing of a final investment decision. Trade press and market commentary have treated the potential expansion as the largest pending LNG sanction in Canada.

Market analysts attribute the momentum behind the decision to firm Asian demand and long-term offtake discussions, though price outlooks remain analysis rather than settled fact. The sources cited in the report did not disclose the expected capital cost of the expansion.

The watch item: a formal FID announcement from LNG Canada's ownership group, expected imminently per the report, which would set the construction timeline and clarify the volume of additional Montney gas the expansion would pull westward.