CALGARY — With nearly 15,000 delegates gathering in Vancouver on Monday for LNG2023, the world’s largest conference on liquified natural gas, industry members have noted a conspicuous absence. 

Natural Resources Minister Jonathan Wilkinson doesn’t plan to attend, though the convention centre where LNG2023 is being held is only a short trip on the city’s SeaBus from his North Vancouver riding. 

Wilkinson’s office said the absence is a matter of scheduling: A spokesperson told The Logic the minister plans to attend the Calgary Stampede this week, where he is slated to meet with industry and government representatives. Edmonton MP Randy Boissonnault, who is also the minister of tourism and associate minister of finance, will speak in his stead. 

For some industry members, the absence points to a deeper tension within the federal government over its posture on LNG, viewed by some as a crucial “bridge fuel” in the energy transition that will offset more harmful fossil fuels like coal. LNG—natural gas that has been cooled to about -160 C so it can be transported in its liquid state—presents a sticky problem for the ruling Liberals, who have set aggressive net-zero targets but are likely to need some fossil fuels to fill the gaps as they get there. 

Why does LNG2023 matter? 

It’s the world’s biggest conference for the LNG industry, which over the last decade has grown into a global juggernaut, reaching US$450 billion in trade last year. Many see a major opportunity for Canada in hosting the event, which was initially supposed to take place in St. Petersburg but was moved due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

“It’s going to have all the key decision-makers and investors associated with LNG attending, and it’s a real coup to have it in Canada, given that LNG should be a critical part of our energy future and our export capacity,” Adam Legge, head of the Business Council of Alberta, told The Logic.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will address attendees, as will Qatar Energy Minister Saad Sherida al-Kaabi and Trinidad & Tobago Energy Minister Stuart Young. LNG Canada CEO Jason Klein and Enbridge CEO Greg Ebel are scheduled to speak. 

The federal government and LNG

In the past, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has expressed openness to fast-tracking Canadian LNG projects to help European nations transition away from Russian natural-gas imports. In 2018, he said LNG Canada’s massive $40-billion export facility now under construction in Kitimat, B.C., “recognizes the need to develop our energy in a way that takes the environment into account.” At the time, he boasted about it being the largest private investment in Canadian history. The first phase of the megaproject is expected to come online by 2025, producing 6.5 million tonnes of liquified gas annually to be shipped to foreign markets. 

Still, representatives of Canada’s natural resources industry say the government has generally dragged its feet on LNG—notably by delaying regulations that would incentivize investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS), a technology that might allow natural-gas producers to eliminate on-site emissions by storing them deep underground. CCS is by extension central to Canada’s plan to cut oil and gas industry emissions 42 per cent by 2030. Ottawa has communicated support for hydrogen, a commodity that Western provinces could potentially produce in ample volumes using natural gas, but has prioritized hydrogen drawn exclusively from clean energy—technology that is currently much less proven. 

Three industry sources who spoke to The Logic said Wilkinson’s absence only adds to the perceived ambivalence on Ottawa’s part toward the fossil fuel. One person said it was “further proof of this lack of seriousness.” Another, who is currently attending LNG2023, said Canadian and American companies at the event are struggling to “understand where our federal government is at, on this conference.” All three sources spoke on condition of anonymity, given ongoing regulatory discussions between their industry and government. 

Canada has been slow to develop its LNG sector. LNG Canada is the only one of 18 proposed projects that has reached the construction phase. The U.S., by comparison, expects to more than double its capacity in the next five years, with three projects expected to reach final investment decisions this year alone. 

Is natural gas really a bridge fuel? 

Environmental groups and some academics oppose LNG development on Canada’s East or West Coast, arguing it would serve to lock the world into fossil-fuel consumption. The David Suzuki Foundation and other organizations have said natural gas is not as clean compared to other electricity sources, like coal, as its industry claims; they argue investment should instead go into clean technologies like wind and solar. 

Without carbon-capture and -storage capabilities, many LNG facilities would burn natural gas just to liquify their exports, raising emissions. The companies building LNG Canada—which include Shell, PETRONAS, PetroChina, Mitsubishi and KOGAS—have sought to electrify their project to slash emissions. But so far that has proven challenging due to a lack of available electricity in the region.