Working in LNG Facility Operation

Leverage Your Skills for a Career in LNG Facility Operation

A career in LNG facility operation allows workers to harness their existing oil and gas plant operations and maintenance knowledge and dedication to continuous improvement and technical excellence to work in an exciting, emerging sector.

The Career Change Pathway

Ease of Transition

A career change from oil and gas to LNG facility operation has a high rate of transferability for operation roles. In most jobs, oil and gas workers will easily transition into LNG operation roles as the skills and experience needed are very similar.

Doing the Research

Before making a career change to a different sector, you should explore and assess your individual skills and experience, evaluate what technical skills may be needed to transition, consider consulting with a career advisor and identify how working in the sector may be different. Characteristics to consider in LNG facility operation include:

Skills and Experience

Understand process and production optimization opportunities and techniques
Understand regulatory issues and the broader business environment
Improve negotiation and stakeholder relations management
Understand local community benefit agreements
Enhance understanding of predictive, preventative and corrective maintenance
Increase knowledge of control room technology

Benefits

Compensation for jobs in this sector is likely similar to the average oil and gas salary range
Career development opportunities are similar to oil and gas
LNG does not require exploration, development or field production experience

Work Environment

Organizations are often large companies
Have well-established policies and structure
Safety-sensitive environments
Shift and rotational work hours for some roles
Relocation likely required to remote or rural locations

The Future of Employment in LNG Facility Operation

Canada is currently developing its LNG export sector with 18 projects proposed across Canada, which makes this an exciting sector to watch and become a part of. The increased use of natural gas as a cleaner source of hydrocarbon energy is creating an opportunity for Canada to develop a new and substantial economic sub-sector.

Currently, the LNG Canada project located in Kitimat, BC, is the only export terminal under construction. At peak construction, it is expected to require 4,500-7,500 workers and create approximately 300-450 permanent jobs. It will connect to natural gas fields in Northeastern BC via the Coastal GasLink pipeline, which is also under construction.

LNG export facilities require workers for ongoing operations and maintenance that are very similar to oil facilities and processing plants including in-situ oil sands, natural gas processing and upgrading and refining.

Direct LNG operations employment varies depending on the size of the plant. On average, there are around 200-350 roles per plant, with up to 800 workers for a larger plant.

Hiring typically ramps up to 12-18 months in advance of operations to ensure workers are trained and available to assist with commissioning and start-up activities.

Because the nature of work, roles and work environments are so similar, engineers, operators and maintenance trades coming from an oil and gas plant operations and maintenance background would be very comfortable working in an LNG facility. The LNG sector needs many of the skills and expertise the oil and gas industry is known for.

Composition of LNG Workforce

Interested in Working in LNG Facility Operation?

Are you:

Looking to work in an emerging sector
Committed to working safely
Comfortable engaging with stakeholders and Indigenous communities
Capable of working cross-functional, integrated teams
Dedicated to continuous improvement and technical excellence
Happy working in larger companies with well-established policies and structures
Willing to work shift or rotational work in remote or rural areas

Learn more about career opportunities in LNG facility operation.

Explore Careers

Day in the Life

Alexandra Professional Engineer

Alexandra joined LNG Canada in 2016, right after completing her master’s studies and was immediately immersed in their first phase of construction of their plant expansion project. The project’s scope at the time included building and operating a terminal where natural gas is liquefied), stored and loaded for offshore markets, mainly in southeast Asia, India and China.

Want to know what it’s like to work as a professional engineer in LNG? Check out Alexandra’s story.

Read Alexandra's Story