Fluor Corp. says that its joint venture partnership with JGC was selected as the engineering, procurement, and construction contractor for LNG Canada’s proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, Canada.

The award depends on a positive final investment decision later this year. The contract value was not disclosed.

If the LNG Canada project advances, key features would include:

LNG processing units: Natural gas will enter the processing units, or "trains" where carbon dioxide, water, condensate, sulfur and any other impurities will be removed. The gas then will be chilled to around minus 162 degrees Celsius and turned into LNG. Condensates will be stored and shipped by rail to market.

Storage tanks: LNG will be piped to storage tanks until it is loaded onto LNG carriers at the wharf.

LNG loading lines: Two LNG loading lines will transfer LNG from the storage tanks to the wharf and the LNG carrier. They will be insulated to keep the LNG in its liquid form.

Marine terminal: An existing wharf will be redesigned to accommodate up to two LNG carriers at a time.

Rail yard: The rail yard inside the facility will be connected into an existing rail system, which will be used to load condensate, a petroleum liquid that is one of the natural by-products of turning natural gas into LNG. The condensate will be stored temporarily in tanks on the site and then transported off-site by rail car for sale.

Water treatment facility: The facility will draw water from the Kitimat River for use in process cooling, drinking and other purposes. Water taken from the river will be treated prior to use. Water will be reused in a closed loop system to reduce water loss. Most of the water used by the cooling system will evaporate during use. Water that does not evaporate will be treated, along with any other facility wastewater, in an on-site wastewater treatment facility before releasing it.

Flare stacks: Two flare stacks – one around 60 meters tall and a second around 125 meters tall – will act as safety devices. When the facility is operating normally, a flame will be seen at the top of the stacks.

The proposed LNG export facility will liquefy Canadian natural gas for export. The facility will initially consist of two trains, each with the capacity to produce at least 6.5 million tons per annum (mtpa) of LNG per train. The project includes the option to expand to four trains.

LNG Canada is a joint venture comprised of Shell Canada Energy (50 percent), an affiliate of Royal Dutch Shell plc, and affiliates of PetroChina (20 percent), Korea Gas Corp. (15 percent) and Mitsubishi Corp. (15 percent).

PetroChina is China’s largest oil and gas producer and supplier. Korea Gas is one of the world’s largest LNG importing companies and South Korea’s principal LNG provider. Mitsubishi is Japan’s largest trading company and handles about 34 percent of Japan’s LNG imports.