Western LNG said on Tuesday it has completed a private placement of equity securities, securing over $150 million in commitments.
“This funding fully supports the remaining development activities for the Ksi Lisims LNG and Prince Rupert Gas Transmission (PRGT) projects through to a final investment decision (FID), expected later this year,” the company said.
Together with prior private placements, cumulative investment in support of these projects has reached more than $265 million, over and above the investments in PRGT made by its previous owner, Western LNG said.
The private placement was anchored by a commitment from Blackstone Energy Transition Partners, an affiliate of Blackstone.
“Blackstone’s anchor investment in this private placement demonstrates its confidence in the Ksi Lisims LNG and PRGT projects,” said Davis Thames, president and CEO of Western LNG.
He said Blackstone’s support “positions us to proceed toward a final investment decision for Ksi Lisims LNG and construction of both projects.”
Western LNG also received “significant” commitments in this placement from affiliates of Jefferies Financial Group, Transition Equity Partners, and other new and existing private investors.
The proceeds of this private placement will support the advancement of discussions with participating Indigenous nations, the completion of front-end engineering for Ksi Lisims LNG and PRGT, and the completion of environmental and regulatory permitting and compliance for both projects, the company said.
This funding also allows Western LNG to “substantially” increase staffing levels for both projects this year.
In addition to the funding commitments made in this private placement, Blackstone and the other participants secured equity investment rights at FID in Ksi Lisims LNG.
These rights, combined with similar rights already secured by investment firm Stonepeak, secures all of the equity capital needed to commence construction upon the project reaching FID,” Western LNG said.
Floating LNG project
Ksi Lisims LNG plans to produce 12 million tonnes per annum of LNG from two floating production facilities which will have integrated storage with an aggregate capacity of about 450,000 cbm of LNG.
The proposed facility will have an all-electric process technology developed by US-based engineer Black & Veatch and will be located at Wil Milit on the northern point of Pearse Island, British Columbia.
In July 2023, Black & Veatch and South Korean shipbuilder Samsung Heavy Industries won a contract for the Ksi Lisims LNG nearshore floating production facility.
Last year, the partners agreed to buy the planned Prince Rupert pipeline project from TC Energy.
In addition, the partners signed the first long-term offtake deal with a unit of LNG giant Shell in January last year.
Under the 20-year SPA, Ksi Lisims will supply 2 million tonnes of LNG per year on a free-on-board basis to Shell Eastern Trading.
Ksi Lisims previously said that construction of the project is expected to take three to four years.
Western LNG noted that Ksi Lisims LNG’s application for an environmental certificate is now complete, and the Environmental Assessment Office (EAO) has reviewed the application and released a draft assessment report for public comment.
“The EAO will finalize their assessment report and submit it as part of a referral package to the Federal and Provincial Ministers of Environment to support a decision this spring,” the company said.
Meanwhile, PRGT’s amendment filings and request for a substantial start determination are in progress, with decisions from the EAO anticipated this spring and summer.
These regulatory milestones are “crucial steps” that position Ksi Lisims LNG for a successful FID in 2025, Western LNG said.
