LNG Canada will double its export capacity in the early 2030s after the Shell-led venture took final investment decision on Tuesday to proceed with Phase 2 of the Kitimat, British Columbia, plant — the country's first liquefied natural gas export facility.

The sanction confirms what shareholders have signaled since the first cargo: Kitimat is not a one-phase story. Phase 2 adds two LNG processing units, or trains, to the facility that began exports in the summer of 2025 after years of development on British Columbia's north coast.

Who holds the plant?

The shareholder group behind LNG Canada pairs a supermajor with four Asian national and state-adjacent players:

• Shell — operator and lead partner
• Petronas — Malaysia's state oil and gas company
• PetroChina — China's listed national champion
• Mitsubishi — Japan's trading house
• Korea Gas Corporation (Kogas) — South Korea's gas utility

The mix reflects the plant's orientation: cargoes from Kitimat cross the Pacific faster than US Gulf Coast volumes can, a logistics edge the partners now intend to press with a second phase.

What does Phase 2 change?

The decision converts an expansion option into a sanctioned project. Two additional trains at Kitimat will double the site's liquefaction capacity, with the added volumes expected online in the early 2030s.

That timeline matters for the basin. Western Canadian gas producers in the Montney and other plays gain a second demand anchor beyond Phase 1's offtake, with first exports from the initial configuration having started only in mid-2025.

Construction sequencing, contractor awards and feedgas pipeline arrangements for Phase 2 were not detailed in the announcement.

Why it matters for Canadian gas

For Canada, the FID cements Kitimat's role as the country's LNG beachhead. The facility went from concept to first cargo over years of development by the five-shareholder consortium, with Shell holding the operatorship.

A doubling of capacity in the early 2030s gives producers a longer runway of West Coast export demand — and gives British Columbia a second major construction cycle at the same industrial site.

The watch item

Track execution on Phase 2: contractor selection, construction timelines and the actual startup window as the project moves from FID to steel in the ground at Kitimat.