LNG Canada, a Shell-led enterprise, has ramped up production and exports to Asia this month, LSEG data shows, because the Iran war threatens Asian natural gas supplies that are particularly vulnerable to global disruptions.
The LNG project in Kitimat, British Columbia, which began operations in June 2025, has exported five cargoes in the primary 11 days of March, already exceeding half its total February volume, the info shows. A sixth shipment is resulting from depart on Tuesday.
All cargoes have been sent to Asia, with two heading to Japan, two to South Korea and one to the Philippines. The plant appears to be operating near its full capability of 14 million metric tons per yr, in response to the LSEG data.
An LNG Canada spokesperson didn’t comment on the ability’s current production volumes but said the corporate continues to advance early operations at the location safely and responsibly.
“A 58th cargo is scheduled to depart in the approaching days,” the spokesperson said in an email.
The enterprise can export slightly below 1.2 million metric tons per thirty days. In the primary one-third of this month it has loaded greater than 400,000 tons, the info showed.
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Global markets have rushed to adapt after Qatar, which supplies about 20% of worldwide traded LNG, was forced to halt production and declare force majeure when the conflict blocked tankers from transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
“They’re further ramping up activity to push toward full capability, in addition to attempting to make a fast surge in LNG output to get more LNG on the water to Asia and reap the benefits of higher prices within the region,” said Martin King, an analyst with RBN Energy.
LNG Canada is the first large-scale Canadian LNG facility to start out production and the primary major North American plant with direct access to the Pacific, shortening sailing time to Asian buyers compared with U.S. Gulf Coast exporters.
The plant has faced operational challenges since startup but has step by step increased output since January, LSEG data shows.
Canadian natural gas producers had stepped up production significantly in anticipation of LNG Canada’s startup last summer, but then faced a slump in domestic prices when the project didn’t draw down supplies as quickly because the markets had expected.
“It looks like they’re pretty close, for the last two weeks, to capability,” said Mike Belenkie, CEO of Advantage Energy, which was certainly one of several firms that temporarily curtailed production in September when Western Canadian natural gas prices temporarily went negative.
Day by day spot prices on the Alberta Energy Company (AECO) storage hub hovered near $2 per million British thermal units on Tuesday, a $1.25 discount to the U.S. Henry Hub benchmark.