VICTORIA – Shell Canada Ltd. (TSX:SHC) has sent its plans to build a $4-billion pipeline and liquefied natural-gas export terminal at Kitimat in northwestern British Columbia to federal and provincial environmental regulatory agencies.

Shell’s plans, which are now among at least a half-dozen proposed B.C. LNG developments, include building a natural-gas pipeline from northeastern B.C. to Kitimat, where the liquefied gas will be loaded onto tankers and shipped to Asia.

The LNG Canada project is a venture between Shell and affiliates of Asian companies Mitsubishi Corp., Korea Gas Corp., and PetroChina Investment Ltd.

The approval process through the federal Environmental Assessment Agency and B.C.’s Environmental Assessment Office is expected to take up to two years.

Recently, B.C.’s environment ministry asked federal environment minister Peter Kent to allow the province to undertake much of the review under a federal-provincial memorandum and regulations that seeks to streamline project approvals.

The B.C. Liberal government is heralding exports of LNG to Asia as a generational opportunity the province must embrace.