Posted May 17, 2026, 3:38 PM
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Registered User
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Join Date: Dec 2015
Posts: 15,590
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I always assumed they already had a pipeline to the terminal.
Quote:
LNG bunkering fuels $3B expansion at Tilbury Island
Of the half-dozen liquefied natural gas plants either built, under construction or in development in B.C., all but one are focused on exports.
FortisBC’s Tilbury Island LNG plant expansion is focused almost exclusively on marine transportation fuelling.
As more ships convert from heavy fuel oil to cleaner-burning natural gas, there is a growing business case for liquefied natural gas bunkering in the Port of Vancouver.
“This is a growing market,” said Harly Penner, president of Seaspan Energy, which provides the fuelling vessels that deliver LNG to ships.
“We do have the ability to open up a new market in Vancouver. We already deliver to cruise [ships], tankers, container ships, car carriers. We’re already doing that work now, and we’ll just have to continue to work with the Port of Vancouver to do more.”
Last month, FortisBC Inc. marked a milestone in its growing marine bunkering market. As of April 23, it had made 10,000 LNG fuel deliveries since 2016.
Most of those deliveries were to BC Ferries and Seaspan Ferries, both of which operate ferries powered by natural gas.
But there's a bigger market out there for LNG bunkering, and FortisBC is hoping to capture some of it with a $3-billion investment in a new marine jetty, and additional liquefaction and storage capacity at Tilbury Island.
As the global marine sector moves to decarbonize shipping, LNG has emerged as the top alternative fuel of choice.
According to industry coalition SEA-LNG, 79 per cent of new orders for alternative shipping fuels in 2025 were for LNG. According to classification society DNV, there are now 800 vessels globally that can burn natural gas, with 600 more vessels on order.
Seaspan Energy Ltd. operates three LNG fuelling vessels out of Vancouver, with the ships roaming as far as Long Beach California.
"They've done an excellent job of helping to bring some of the necessary fuelling infrastructure into the port,” said Ian Finke, FortisBC's director of LNG commercial and capital development.
The LNG comes from FortisBC’s Tilbury Island plant, which will undergo an expansion.
Currently, LNG from the plant is transferred to Seaspan Energy bunkering barges via trucks and ISO containers.
The Tilbury Island marine jetty will cut this additional step out of the fuelling process supply chain, as the LNG will be delivered directly to fuelling vessels.
The marine jetty was granted an environmental certificate last year. Construction is expected to start next year and be in service by the end of 2029.
As for the Tilbury Island plant’s expansion, there are two phases to it.
The first phase would bring production up from the current 250,000 tonnes per annum to 900,000. A second phase expansion would bring total production to 2.5 million tonnes per annum.
The expansion plans are now in the final stage of a BC Environmental Assessment Act review.
The expansion includes a new three-billion cubic feet storage tank. The storage tank alone represents a $1-billion investment.
In total, FortisBC plans to spend $3-billion on the marine jetty, storage tank and first phase expansion of liquefaction capacity.
"Conservatively, we believe the [LNG bunkering] market can reach 900,000 tonnes by 2030, and it can continue to grow well beyond that into 2035 and beyond,” Finke said.
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https://www.biv.com/news/resources-agric...-3b-expansion-at-tilbury-island-12256257
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