A deal to supply Canadian liquefied natural gas to Germany would be a key step toward the partners behind the Ksi Lisims project deciding to go ahead with their $10-billion West Coast plant and export terminal, British Columbia Premier David Eby said Tuesday.
Eby made his remarks after multiple outlets reported German firm SEFE is poised to buy gas shipped from Ksi Lisims and a day before federal Natural Resources Minister Tim Hodgson is scheduled to make an announcement about international energy exports in Vancouver.
The B.C. premier said his government has long been supportive of the project being pursued by the Nisga’a Nation alongside Houston-based Western LNG and Rockies LNG, a group of Canadian natural gas producers. The companies and the First Nation declined to comment on Tuesday.
“We look forward to celebrating the formal announcement of this with the Nisga’a, with the federal government. It’s an example of the work we’re doing together and we’re super proud of it,” Eby told reporters after a meeting with western premiers in Kananaskis, Alta.
“I feel like British Columbia is throwing the ball up and it’s giving the federal government a chance to take that alley-oop and dunk it.”
Ksi Lisims, on Pearse Island by the border with Alaska, has the permits it needs but the consortium has yet to make a final investment decision paving the way for construction to begin.
Eby said sealing up offtake agreements with buyers is a key step before Ksi Lisims can reach that milestone.
The partnership has already signed supply agreements with a unit of London-based Shell and France-based TotalEnergies.
The LNG Canada facility further south along the coast in Kitimat, B.C., was the first project of its kind to start up in this country almost a year ago. That facility is owned by Shell Canada and four Asian firms.
Ksi Lisims and an expansion to LNG Canada have been referred to the major projects office, which aims to speed along infrastructure deemed in Canada’s national interest.
Those two projects were built with exports to Asia in mind, given the short shipping distance across the Pacific. But the war in the Middle East has knocked out production from Qatar, one of the world’s biggest LNG suppliers, leaving European countries short on the fuel and in search of steady imports from elsewhere in the world.
Environmental groups sought to put a damper on the celebratory tone.
Alex Walker, analytics program manager at Environmental Defence, said Ksi Lisims “is not a Canadian export success story waiting to happen,” as it faces legal challenges from First Nations that have not given their consent.
“It is a high-risk, legally contested fossil fuel project that has failed for decades to attract capital,” Walker said.
“Whatever details tomorrow’s announcement may hold, the core economic, environmental, and reconciliation concerns surrounding Ksi Lisims remain unresolved.”
Jesse Stoeppler, co-executive director of the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition, said the federal government is acting as though Ksi Lisims is already up and running.
“Tim Hodgson is trying to create political momentum around a project that still lacks broad consent and carries substantial legal, economic, and climate risk.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 25, 2026.
By Lauren Krugel | Copyright 2026, The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.