Alberta’s Premier Smith sees US LNG export pause as opportunity

President Joe Biden’s decision to pause approval of new liquefied natural gas export licenses is an opportunity for Canada as the country prepares to start exporting the fuel, Alberta’s premier said.

“I note, with interest, that the Americans may be pausing on their LNG export,” Danielle Smith, head of the country’s fossil fuel-producing heartland, said on Bloomberg TV. “I look at that as an opportunity for us. If we can be an additional supplier to the world of this vitally important energy source that’s also lower emissions, and lower polluting, I think we have a role to play.”

After years of delays, Canada’s first LNG export plant is scheduled to start operation as early as 2025, shipping as much as 14 million metric tons annually from British Columbia to Asia. A number of additional projects off the Pacific Coast are at various levels of development and more than a dozen have been proposed over the years. 

The US, which moved earlier and more aggressively than Canada to become an LNG exporter and is today among the largest producers, halted approving new export licenses in an effort to study how shipments affect climate change, the economy and national security. The moratorium is expected to disrupt billions of dollars in projects. 

Smith spoke during her first visit to Washington as premier, hammering home her province’s status as a major North American energy provider and pushing for expanded access, such as new pipelines. President Joe Biden killed the Keystone XL Pipeline upon taking office.

She said she was set to meet with Republican Senators J.D. Vance, Rand Paul, Markwayne Mullin, Marsha Blackburn, Steve Daines, Lisa Murkowski and Democrat Joe Manchin.