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Workers91Ƶ camp at LNG facility in Kitimat takes shape

Extensive worker camp now being assembled
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The first of two dormitory sections of the LNG Canada camp at Kitimat is now being assembled. (Photo courtesy LNG Canada) One of the more visible above-ground projects now underway is that of the worker camp, Cedar Valley Lodge. (Contributed photo)

Born in Ireland but having spent years overseeing liquefied natural gas (LNG) construction projects in Australia, LNG Canada91Ƶs just-arrived general manager for its $40 billion facility in Kitimat is firm about his expectations.

91ƵWe want this to be the safest project on earth,91Ƶ Vince Kenny says of construction which has just passed the one year mark leading to a planned finish in 2024.

With just under 1,000 people now working at the 400-hectare site, now is the time to cement that standard, he says.

91ƵBy the time we get to 5,000 people, we will have that culture in place,91Ƶ Kenny emphasizes that this project which will be his seventh. 91ƵUnless we91Ƶve got a culture, all the systems, processes and procedures are ineffective.91Ƶ

Employees begin each shift reviewing the work plan, a procedure called a toolbox discussion.

91ƵWe91Ƶre here to take care of one another,91Ƶ says Kenny, translating the IIF acronym that91Ƶs the hallmark of LNG Canada 91Ƶ Incident and Injury Free.

Even a brief tour of the works by a group of journalists from across B.C. starts with a video of LNG Canada workers outlining safety and security, the two words being almost interchangeable.

Workers have ID cards to be 91Ƶbadged in,91Ƶ creating an electronic record of their presence. They91Ƶre required to stay within their designated work area. There are constant security patrols. Vehicles are inspected for any fluid leaks before entry. There91Ƶs specific mention of drug-sniffing dogs too.

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No one gets on the site without basic safety equipment 91Ƶ hardhat, safety glasses, a high visibility vest, work boots and gloves. The driver of the tour bus taking the journalists to the site points out emergency exit windows. He brandishes a small hammer to smash a window if necessary. The bus doesn91Ƶt move until each passenger clicks in their seatbelt.

Victor Kenny, LNG Canada general manager
With Kenny is Trevor Feduniak who arrived in Kitimat in mid-2016. As the project site manager, he was one of the first senior LNG Canada people on location, overseeing the clearing of the former Methanex site and then expanding its footprint.

Although the project was not given the formal go-ahead until last October by LNG Canada91Ƶs investors Shell, PETRONAS from Malaysia, PetroChina from China, Mitsubishi Corporation from Japan and Korean-owned KOGAS, crews had been fully occupied raising up the location to a construction standard and to safeguard it against the possibility of tsunami sweeping inland from the Douglas Channel.

The fill comes from the nearby Sandhill, a mountain of material Feduniak describes as perfect for its material composition. One million cubic metres has already been transferred, edging away at the overall 2.5 million cubic metres that will have to be moved and placed in preparation for the arrival of two massive processing modules. From there, the gas will be transported via a pipeline from northeastern B.C., super-cooled to a liquid state for storage and then shipped out on specialized tankers to Asian customers.

91ƵThis is what we call coming out of the ground,91Ƶ Feduniak explains as a tour bus winds its way through the site, encountering massive material-carrying trucks along the way.

Two streams that cross the site, the Kitimat Side Channel and Beaver Creek, were diverted to ensure Fluor-JGC has dry and stable conditions on which to construct the plant.

91ƵWhen you disturb one habitat, you have to compensate with two [enhancement measures],91Ƶ says Feduniak of the environmental work that was involved.

He compares the detailed water course replacement work for fish and other habitat to that of a landscaped Japanese garden.

One corner of the project site contains what, to the untrained eye, looks like sections of pipe stacked metres above the ground.

What they are are the pilings, 40 metres long, that will be driven into the ground upon which the two processing buildings will sit.

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Those processing modules being built in Asia are to be 70 metres long, 35 metres wide and 50 metres tall, the approximate height of a 13-storey commercial building.

They91Ƶll be shipped to Kitimat in modular segments and assembled on-site, being transported to their final resting place via an elaborate series of interconnected trailers with hundreds of wheels controlled by a single operator using a remote control. So sophisticated is the transport system that the operator is able to place the modules within centimetres of where they need to be located.

The sheer height of the modules has meant raising Rio Tinto BC Works91Ƶ power lines that cross the site to deliver power to the smelter from Kemano, so that the modules can fit comfortably underneath when being moved.

One of the more visible above-ground projects now underway is that of the worker camp, Cedar Valley Lodge, which is being built by the ATCO-Bird joint venture, for another joint venture between Fluor Corporation and JGC, the overall general contractor on the project.

There91Ƶll be two living unit sections with a series of common buildings in the middle.

One of the modular accommodation sections is now being assembled with a finishing schedule of next spring to meet a first goal of 1,500 91Ƶheads in beds91Ƶ with 1,000 more beds to be added each quarter thereafter to the final total of 4,500.

Unlike camps of past, each worker will have his or her own bathroom and each room will have its own TV. There91Ƶll be sound dampening and other acoustic methods so that sleeping quarters will be as quiet as possible. The living areas will be co-ed.

The middle buildings will contain administration offices, sports and recreation facilities including male and female gyms, kitchen and dining facilities, an entertainment centre, a licensed lounge, a medical clinic, storage for luggage and housekeeping and maintenance facilities.

There91Ƶll be landscaping around the area and informational material describes the facility as having the 91Ƶlargest core footprint91Ƶ of its kind in Canada.

91ƵYou want your workers to come here and then want to come back,91Ƶ said LNG Canada spokesperson Susannah Pierce of the atmosphere and amenities of the facility.

More than 4,500 people will be onsite at any one time at the peak of construction, requiring between 7,000 to 7,500 people in all given the shift work nature of the project. Workers will be onsite for 14 days at a time, returning after a seven-day break.

All this compares to another large worker camp in B.C. 91Ƶ the 1,600-room facility at B.C. Hydro91Ƶs Site C project in northeastern B.C.

With accommodation facilities now underway, there91Ƶs other activity on the waterfront at two terminal sites.

LNG Canada is building Rio Tinto a new wharf in exchange for taking over the aluminum smelting company91Ƶs existing wharf. Dredging is now going on as part of that project.

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LNG Canada project site manager Trevor Feduniak arrived in Kitimat in mid-2016. (Natalia Balcerzak/Terrace Standard)
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LNG Canada91Ƶs 91Ƶfish ladder91Ƶ at Anderson Creek, which allows fish to migrate despite construction-related work. (Natalia Balcerzak/Terrace Standard)
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The middle buildings will contain administration offices, sports and recreation facilities including male and female gyms, kitchen and dining facilities, and other features. (Natalia Balcerzak/Terrace Standard)


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