Should a new $3 billion liquefied natural gas plant in Kitimat now making its way through the BC Environmental Assessment process be approved by regulators and investors, it would be a world first.

The Cedar LNG facility would not only be the largest major industrial project built and owned by First Nations in Canada, it would also be the only Indigenous-owned liquefied natural gas export facility in the world.

The Cedar LNG project is being developed by the Haisla First Nation on fee-simple land owned by the Haisla on Douglas Channel, near the Rio Tinto aluminum smelter and LNG Canada plant, which is still under construction.

“With Cedar LNG, we have more than a seat,” Haisla chief Crystal Smith said last week at Globe Forum 2022. “We are owners, and we are setting the standards we believe in.

Compared with LNG Canada, which would export 13 million tonnes of LNG annually, Cedar LNG is modest in size. Its annual production capacity would be three million tonnes.

It wouldn’t be the first LNG project proposed by First Nations in B.C., but it might become the first to be built…read more.

• Russia is on track to make $321 billion from energy exports in 2022 if trading partners keep buying its oil and gas, according to a Bloomberg analysis Friday.
• An energy embargo by the EU, the UK, and the US could cost Russia as much as $300 billion in export receipts.
• The US and the UK are among a few nations that have outright banned Russian imports.

Russia looks on course to bring in more than $300 billion in energy revenue in 2022 if its major trading partners keep buying its oil and gas, according to a Bloomberg analysis published Friday.

An estimated $321 billion in energy exports would be an increase of more than a third from 2021 as Russia deals with economic pressure in the form of sanctions from Western nations for launching a war against Ukraine in late February.

Many of Russia’s energy customers are looking to purchase supplies from other areas and are not signing new contracts. A widespread embargo on energy sales would sharply cut into Russia’s sales but, for now, the US and the UK are among a few nations that have outright banned Russian imports.

“The single biggest driver of Russia’s current account surplus continues to look solid,” Bloomberg quoted economists at the Institute of International Finance, or IFF, as saying in a report. “With current sanctions in place, substantial inflows of hard currency into Russia look set to continue.”…read more.

B.C. drivers will get $110 in ICBC rebates in May to help them cope with high gasoline prices. Commercial ICBC insurance holders will get a $165 rebate.

Premier John Horgan and Solicitor General Mike Farnworth announced the one-time rebates Friday to help British Columbians drivers cope with soaring gasoline prices. In total, ICBC will rebate back $395 million to B.C. drivers.

“These small contributions will be large for many people across British Columbia,” Horgan said.

Gasoline prices have broken North American records in Metro Vancouver, thanks to war in the Ukraine roiling global oil markets.

Gasoline prices are expected to tick down by three cents Saturday, according to GasWizard, after hitting an average of $1.99 per litre this week. But global oil prices are ticking back up, so higher gasoline prices are sure to follow. And on April 1, B.C.’s carbon tax will go up, adding one cent to the price of regular gasoline.

Given that British Columbians pay disproportionately high taxes on gasoline, Horgan has been under pressure to cut gas taxes, as Alberta has done…read more.