• Shell Canada Energy announced a final investment decision on LNG Canada Phase 2, which would raise capacity at Kitimat, British Columbia, from 14 mtpa to 28 mtpa.
• Phase 2 adds two LNG trains, a storage tank, a condensate tank, a loading berth and expanded utilities; Coastal GasLink will add five compressor stations to its 670-kilometre pipeline.
• Shell has a 40% interest in LNG Canada and will receive nearly 6 mtpa of additional LNG; commercial operations are expected in the early 2030s.
• LNG Prime's list also covers a planned second phase for Mozambique LNG and a FERC capacity approval for Rio Grande LNG, neither of which is an investment decision.
• This is analysis, not trading advice: a 2030s start date does not change near-term cargo availability.

Shell Canada Energy's final investment decision on LNG Canada Phase 2 was the main LNG development in LNG Prime's most-read list for 28 September to 4 October 2026. It would double the Kitimat export facility, but first commercial output is expected only in the early 2030s. The other listed items are earlier-stage plans, approvals or import projects. This is analysis, not trading advice.

What the LNG Canada decision covers

According to Shell's announcement, Phase 2 adds two LNG trains within the existing Kitimat facility, lifting capacity from 14 million tonnes per annum to 28 mtpa. The scope also includes an additional LNG storage tank, a condensate tank, a loading berth and expanded utility and process systems. Coastal GasLink will expand its existing 670-kilometre pipeline with five new compressor stations. Shell holds a 40% interest and will receive nearly 6 mtpa of additional LNG.

Why the timing matters more than the headline

Shell expects commercial operations to begin in the early 2030s, so the decision shapes supply later in the decade rather than this winter. An FID is the step that separates a credible project from an announced one, though it is not by itself evidence of how the spending is funded. Shell says the investment is expected to generate an internal rate of return above the hurdle rate for its Integrated Gas business. That is a company expectation, not an outcome.

The rest of the list sits earlier on the ladder

LNG Prime reports that TotalEnergies is planning a second phase for Mozambique LNG in Cabo Delgado province, and that FERC approved increased capacity for NextDecade's Rio Grande LNG in Texas. A plan and a regulatory approval are both preconditions, not investment decisions. We have relied on LNG Prime's headlines for these two items and have not independently reviewed TotalEnergies or FERC documents, so we draw no conclusions about their financing or schedules.

Import infrastructure keeps moving

LNG Prime also reports that Kinetics, a Karpowership unit, is converting the LNG carrier Arctic Voyager into a floating storage and regasification unit, and that the roof has been raised on the first LNG storage tank at the Brunsbüttel terminal in Germany, which LNG Prime links to Gasunie and RWE. Both concern import capacity rather than export supply. Details beyond those headlines are not verified here.

What to watch next

Three markers matter. Whether the Kitimat construction schedule holds against the early-2030s start Shell has stated. Whether TotalEnergies moves its Mozambique second-phase plan toward a formal investment decision. And whether FERC's Rio Grande approval is followed by a further commitment from NextDecade. Until those happen, only Phase 2 has moved from announced to a taken investment decision in this week's list.