A proposal to bring a floating liquefied natural gas plant to the Saanich Inlet has been scrapped two years after talks began on the project.
Steelhead LNG announced the decision in a news release Monday, saying it would no longer be building the plant on Malahat Nation-owned land in Bamberton.
The company said it made the decision following "careful consideration" but didn't chalk it up to any one reason, saying it was based on "several factors."
Malahat Nation reached a deal with Steelhead LNG in August to explore the possibility of building the plant, which would have processed up to six-million tonnes of the product per year.
It would have required the construction of a pipeline from the Lower Mainland to supply natural gas to the facility.
The proposal involved two years of environmental studies, stakeholder consultations and engineering work.
"Steelhead LNG would like to thank and acknowledge the many Malahat members who contributed more than 2,200 hours of work as Field Assistants on the early environmental studies," the company said.
While the Bamberton project has been abandoned, Steelhead said it is still exploring the Kwispaa LNG project, formerly called Sarita LNG, southwest of Port Alberni.
The proposed plant would be built in Sarita Bay, a traditional Huu-a-aht territory. The First Nation approved the plan earlier this year.
