A “BLG Quebec 2.0” could emerge on the North Shore. The company of Norwegian Origin Marinvest Energy Canada is thinking of launching a new project for the liquefaction of natural gas and gas pipeline in Baie-Comeau.
The promoters came to meet us to tell us about the idea of the project
confirmed the prefect of MRC of Manicuagan, Marcel Furlong, to the show Hello the coast. We really don’t know much about it. No document has been filed.
Citing several sources, daily life The Duty reported on Friday that the company wants to install a liquefaction complex and a maritime terminal directly in the waters of the St. Lawrence River, in order to export Alberta natural gas to Europe.
The project would also include the construction of a pipeline of several hundred kilometers in Quebec, which would connect installations to the TC Energy network.
We are not closed when we leave, but we are not reassured either
said Mr. Furlong. If it is a project that is considered [comme] Important by the federal government and the provincial government and that they decide to carry it as a national project, there will be little to say.
Last February, the Legault government was open to a new version of the GNL Québec project, which provided, among other things, the construction of a gas pipeline carrying Alberta North North Gas from Ontario to Saguenay.
Quebec had refused to authorize the project in July 2021, quoting an unfavorable report of BAPE made public a few months earlier. In February 2022, in a 285 -page report, the Canada Impact Evaluation Agency said that the GNL Quebec project was likely to harm the environment.
The agency concluded that the factory would increase greenhouse gases (GHG), that the increase in maritime traffic on Saguenay would harm the population of Belugas, while there would also be negative effects on the Innu First Nations.
The Trudeau government had therefore decided that these negative impacts on the environment were not justifiable in the circumstances and had refused to grant its authorization.
The GNL Quebec project had faced a lively opposition to Saguenay. (Archives photo)
Photo: Philippe L’Heureux
In the context of the trade war with the United States, If new projects are presented, we are ready to examine them carefully [et] This is what we will do with this
said the Cabinet of the Quebec Minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Christine Fréchette.
Social acceptability remains an essential condition for any project. Also, there will be necessary that there are benefits for Quebec.
In a press briefing in Sept-Îles, Prime Minister François Legault confirmed that members of his team had met representatives of Marinvest Energy Canada.
The first thing we are going to look at is the economic benefits, he said. Are there paying jobs for Quebecers? Is there any income that can go to Quebecers? If it’s paying for Quebecers, we’re going to look at him, if it’s not paying for Quebecers, we won’t look at him.
This new project occurs when the federal government has just adopted its controversial bill on major infrastructure projects which it will deem innational interest
. In order for it to be set in motion faster, a project could overcome certain laws, especially environmental.
If Quebec wants to advance this project with the promoter, we will assess whether it meets the criteria
of national interest, said the Federal Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, Tim Hodgson.
Absurd
In a world that turns to renewable energies, resuscitate fossil infrastructure projects is madness: these undead projects no longer have their place in our energy future and should never see the light of day
denounced Friday morning the director of the Greenpeace climat-energy campaign, Louis Couillard.
Quebec and Ottawa should, according to him, close the door to any new project of this kind.
For the Organization Nature Québec, A new liquefied natural gas project in 2025 is absurd
.
Such projects cannot see the light of day or be profitable without being funded by taxpayers, because the markets are no longer there and the costs of such infrastructure is staggering
said the organization in a written declaration. All this for marginal and temporary benefits for Quebec, since it would be a project devoted to export.
Simon Langlois-Bertrand, research partner at the Trottier Energy Institute, abounds in the same direction. He believes that Canada may have difficulty carving out in the world markets.
We put a lot on demand in Europe because Europe must be freed from Russian gas. But Europe has already reduced its gas consumption for two years, so it’s difficult to see the short and medium -term prospects
has noted M. Langlois-Bertrand.
In Asia, where suppliers are already well established, the markets would also be very difficult to unravel
he added in an interview on the show L’info NOWon the air by RDI.
Québec Solidaire spokesperson Ruba Ghazal qualified this new project completely irresponsible
. Marinvest and all those who will support a new megaprojet of LNG In Quebec will find Quebec Solidaire on their way
she reacted on X.
On the environmental level, Simon Langlois-Bertrand recalled the risks for the biodiversity of the Baie-Comeau region as well as the risk of leaks. Although liquefied natural gas can replace more polluting fuels such as coal, frequent
Methane leaks, a powerful GESwould contribute to global warming, he explained.
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With Canadian press information
