Shell CFO says LNG Canada is loading one cargo a week; ramp-up stable

Shell-led SHEL LNG Canada is loading about one cargo a week, Shell's finance chief Sinead Gorman told reporters on Thursday after Reuters reported technical problems at Canada's first major liquefied natural gas export project, citing sources.

A spokesperson for LNG Canada has said that one cargo every two days would be a normal pace for the plant's first phase when fully ramped up.

Later on Thursday, Shell CEO Wael Sawan said that he was pleased with momentum at LNG Canada, adding that the "ramp up profile is very much in line with what we had expected".

"We're essentially churning out a cargo...every eight days, and as we progress the ramp up of Train 1, that moves to one every four days, and so on and so forth as you get into Train 2," he said during a call with analysts following the company's second-quarter earnings.

LNG processing units for the liquefaction of the gas are referred to as trains.

"We are very much looking forward...over the next month or two, to start Train 2," Sawan added.

Once Train 2 is fully functional, LNG Canada will have a capacity of 14 million metric tons per year.