The Quebec government has approved the Stolt LNGaz natural gas liquefaction plant development in Bécancour, officials announced on Monday.

The Stolt LNGaz project aims to produce 500,000 tons of liquefied natural gas (LNG) at its future Bécancour plant and to distribute the LNG, primarily via LNG tankers, to Quebec businesses not connected to the existing natural gas distribution network.

"With the Bécancour project, Quebec will become the global model for the production and distribution of LNG on a regional scale," said Rodney Semotiuk, CEO of Stolt LNGaz. Semotiuk acknowledged the support that the Quebec government, the Bécancour community and the Waban-Aki community have shown the project.

Beginning in 2018, the Stolt LNGaz project will provide a safe, reliable access to large quantities of LNG, according to project officials. This will enable all businesses not served by the traditional natural gas grid to be more competitive and cost-effective while significantly improving their environmental performance, thus helping to meet the Quebec government's greenhouse gas emission reduction objectives.

Stolt LNGaz also announced the signing of major partnership agreements with two large Quebec companies, Petro-Nav, a subsidiary of Groupe Desgagnés specializing in the maritime transport of bulk liquids; and Servitank, a subsidiary of Groupe Somavrac and the Quebec leader in the warehousing and delivery of bulk products and hazardous materials.

"We are pleased to announce this partnership between our subsidiary Petro-Nav and Stolt-Nielsen, which will see us become the co-owners and operators of the tanker ships that will serve Stolt LNGaz customers on the North Shore and possibly even customers on other Canadian coasts," said Louis-Marie Beaulieu, CEO of Groupe Desgagnés. "I am also proud that our partnership will create some 100 new jobs aboard these tankers."

Marc Paquin, president of Groupe Somavrac, described the partnership between Stolt LNGaz and the subsidiary Servitank as follows: "Servitank is a natural partner for the safe transportation of LNG by road tankers from Stolt's regional terminals to its clients' facilities. We estimate that these additional deliveries will create some 40 new permanent jobs."

Rodney Semotiuk, CEO of Stolt LNGaz, said the Stolt LNGaz project is valued at more than $600 million (approximately CAN$800 million).

"We are proud to be Quebec's first LNG liquefaction and distribution project to have conducted an in-depth impact study and ongoing consultations with the citizens and leaders of the Bécancour region, and to have received an overall favorable report from the Bureau d'audiences publiques sur l'environnement (BAPE) of Quebec," he said.