It has been almost five months since Luke Schauerte became Woodfibre LNG’s chief executive officer.
Schauerte, a professional engineer by trade, was previously with LNG Canada, helping the facility near completion in Kitimat.
Before that, he held various positions with Shell.
Earlier, he had a nine-year career as a combat systems engineer with the Canadian Armed Forces.
The father of two teens sat down with The Squamish Chief at our office on Second Avenue on Wednesday for an approximately 30-minute conversation about his role, how he perceives opposition to the project, touting net zero and where he thinks LNG is heading.
What follows is a version of that conversation edited for length and clarity.
Q: Why did you want this position with Woodfibre LNG?
A: I have been in the energy industry for just about 20 years. I've always been really excited about Canadian energy overall. And so when I had the chance to be part of the LNG segment in Canada, I really thought: How do you actually make it into an industry?
I had the chance to join LNG Canada and contribute to that business. I was at a couple of different tables where we were working to support Cedar LNG as it came forward. So, I've gotten to play a really small part in that. When I looked at Woodfibre LNG, I thought, there's another one. If you have three facilities that are actually doing this type of business in Canada and doing it well, you've got an industry. You've got the ability to export at scale. You can be part of the community. You have the ability to contribute to economic reconciliation. So for me, it was really about purpose, and saying I wanted to be part of making sure there was this industry in Canada.
Q: You said you are excited about energy. Can you expand on that?
A: I think there's a strong global demand for energy overall, and for a lot of the energy industry, it's the ability, from this perspective, to provide that energy and do it responsibly, do it well.
I've always been proud of the Canadian regulatory infrastructure that's in place.
The BCER [BC Energy Regulator] is a powerful, strong regulator, and I think that often you don't have the chance to actually get into that business and ultimately complete those types of activities. As energy has that demand, we have the opportunity to apply for it, and I want to see that continue to grow.
Q: When you talk about the regulatory approvals, what we hear from some in the community is that it is sort of a rubber stamp. That there isn't enough regulation. What do you say to that?
A: I've had the chance to work in a lot of different regulatory frameworks internationally and across Canada. I think that everybody in B.C. has every reason to be proud of BCER. I think the same for the Environmental Assessment Office and on a federal level, the DFO [Fisheries and Oceans Canada]. I think the regulatory bodies that look after and understand what it means to be able to do business in Canada, what it means to be able to build and operate facilities in Canada, I think they do an incredibly great job. I think that it is sophisticated. I would tell you that the amount of work we do to achieve those outcomes and to get those permits, and then the everyday work you have to do to meet the expectations, I think they are world-leading. And I think that you see that in the types of facilities that are coming through, where people are building lower and lower emission facilities here, where people are working every day to meet the thousands of conditions that are put on these projects. So no, I am absolutely certain, having done it elsewhere, this is a high bar, and rightfully so. I think that it's something that we can be proud of.
Q: You have been in Alberta and Kitimat, places that have a different attitude towards these kinds of projects than in Squamish, where there has been quite vocal opposition. What do you make of that?
A: I think context drives reality for everybody. I'd be the first to acknowledge the context in Squamish is different, than, let's call it, up north. I think that a lot of the communities up north have experienced being involved with the energy industry and major industrial players for a long time, and that gives a certain flavour to the interactions that you have with that community in terms of what they expect, what they know to be true, and what kind of jobs they're looking for. When you think about Squamish, and you think about the heritage of this town, I think there was a period of time where it would have been quite natural for this [project] to have happened. Now there are different expectations from the community. I think there's some of the community that definitely struggle with having another industrial player in Howe Sound. There are others who are strongly supportive; who actually see this as a business coming back—the ability to employ people, to make a contribution to the community. Understanding that there are those different views in Squamish, we have to be able to meet those audiences where they are, and we have to continue to live up to their expectations.
Q: What do you think is misunderstood about LNG?
A: I think that LNG has had a really long history, so it's not something new. But as far as its contribution to the energy transition, it's definitely become the transition fuel. There are lots of different views around that, and I accept that, but ultimately, I think [LNG] has emerged as being that fuel that will allow us to go to a lower emission profile and make the ultimate transition over time to renewable energy, and everything else. So, I feel like it's hard to see the difference between other products that are produced and LNG, because it's got a big infrastructure, it has ships, it has those types of features, and sometimes people don't see that it's actually a differentiated fossil fuel. And ultimately, it's a part of that energy transition.
Another part for me that I think about with Woodfibre LNG, particularly, is that it's a net zero facility.
Part of the attraction coming to Woodfibre LNG was setting a new bar. It is powered by BC Hydro, it's going to lead the way in acknowledging the Squamish Nation as a regulator. There's a series of firsts that I think LNG is capable of that actually puts Woodfibre LNG in a place of saying this is part of the solution to the energy transition.
Q: There is going to be pushback to the net zero comment, as there is whenever it is said about Woodfibre LNG. What about the fracking up north that is associated with this project?
A: Everybody in the value chain has to do its job very well, the upstream, the midstream pipelines and ourselves. I think that the ability to do that well defines if the product is differentiated. If it is truly net zero. I go back to the BCER, and the expectation of B.C. You see the electrification of the upstream up north. You see continued strong regulatory outcomes and strong regulatory enforcement around pipelines, and then ultimately, for our facility, it's really been a bar raised for saying we're doing it net zero, we're doing it with E-drives. We're doing it in a way that's been different. We're doing it air-cooled to minimize water impacts. I think it's natural to have that pushback. There's an expectation being raised around emissions overall. But I do feel that that integrated value chain and everybody doing their job well in B.C. is a differentiator itself.
Q: Another aspect of the pushback on the project has been towards the workers and the housing of the workers in the community. Can you address that?
A: I realize that Squamish has grown significantly in the last five or six years. So, having a mayor and a council that are concerned about the pressures on housing is a natural outcome, with them saying everybody's showing up, and ultimately, putting more pressure on isn't helpful. I accept that, and we've done a lot to be sure that we address that. The floatel has been very key to that; Sirocco has been very key to that, and we're continuing to provide that housing to not have an impact.
When we get to gender safety and talking about worker impacts. I think that the work we've done, the gender safety and the Gender Safety Advisory Committee, the commitments to strong representation in our workplace, around what we expect from workers and how they're going to show up, I think all that has been done incredibly well. It hurts my heart to come from a family that has a lot of tradespeople in it. I do think these are good people who do good work, and they come home at night to make sure that they can feed their families, they can pay their mortgage, they can put their kids in school. I don't want to say that the industry hasn't had a history and a legacy. I acknowledge that.
But I also want to say that we have incredible people doing incredible things on our site, and I don't think that we can paint them with one brush.
Q: We recently spoke to the Green Party federal candidate, Lauren Greenlaw. She mentioned she wanted to end what she calls "corporate welfare" or government subsidies for projects like Woodfibre LNG and others. So, for example, subsidized electricity from BC Hydro. Can you address that?
A: The ability to attract investment as a country is dependent on a lot of factors. Part of the reason that B.C. is so incredible for the LNG industry is that you actually have large BC Hydro infrastructure that provides green energy to be used to move this product. I think that there's a long debate that's been going on about how much the industry needs to be competitive. It's a conversation that happens between everybody—including the government and ourselves—and I think we have to acknowledge that it's something where if we don't have competitive frameworks to attract capital in, then we just don't have these types of businesses show up here. So, I think we've been really appreciative of the fact that we've got the opportunity to build here, that we've got agreements in place with BC Hydro, with FortisBC, with the provincial government, that allow us to actually build a competitive facility here.
Q: With everything that's happening in the U.S., and tariffs, when I asked WLNG before, the answer was there was little impact to the project. Is that still the case?
A: We've done a fairly detailed analysis of where we are in our construction phase and how that's going to impact us. We see a very small impact, as far as that's concerned. And I think we're positioned really well, as Canada says it wants to be more connected to global markets. We're in the middle of doing that, right? So, when it comes to what can we do and how do we contribute? We're doing it by finishing this project, getting ourselves online and putting our product into market.
Q: Was there anything you really wanted to say that I didn't ask you?
A: I do think that we're working hard on being a good neighbour. Some of our community sponsorship programs that we do—the ability to actually see small businesses and small nonprofits getting some funding that actually makes a difference in the community. That's been super meaningful. I sat down with a number of them.
We're going to be here for the next 40 years. We want to make sure that people understand what's happening on site, that they understand how it's being built and they understand it's being done to a high standard. I think the last thing we didn't talk a lot about was, how do you maintain yourself as a steward of Howe Sound. I think the work we've done to remediate the site, to really clean up what was there was important. It was crucial. And you're seeing a lot of the vibrancy come back to the site and now we will maintain that as we develop it.
Q: You note you financially support organizations, but then there have been some who have said they don't want your money due to it being a fossil fuel project. What is your perspective on that?
A: I feel like we're turning a page. We're building, it's real. We're going to be here for the next 40 years. We're going to employ local people and local businesses. And I do think that the discussions that I've had with the District have actually been ultimately engaging. And I think that there's an opportunity to get into some of those discussions around infrastructure and how we show up as a good neighbour, and I'm excited to have those discussions with the District and the council. But I realize that's not where we were. There's a history.
It is not lost on me that the people who are going to work at Woodfibre LNG, ultimately, will be long-term residents of the community. I want them to feel welcome and well-regarded. I want them to feel proud of their work. And so I think there's work to do ahead to actually make that the reality that we're looking forward to.
Construction began on the Woodfibre LNG project in September 2023. The facility is expected to be completed in 2027.
