Woodfibre LNG Project

Project Overview

The Woodfibre LNG Project is a proposed liquefied natural gas (LNG) processing plant and export terminal at the former Woodfibre pulp mill site in Howe Sound, approximately 7 km southwest of Squamish, BC. 

Project Role

As part of the Front-end Engineering and Design (FEED), Knight Piésold was retained to conduct a site-wide geotechnical site investigation program and analysis. The geotechnical services provided include:

• Planning and implementation of onshore and offshore site investigation programs, utilizing sonic drilling, standard penetration testing, seismic cone penetration testing (SCPTu), test pits, geophysical surveys (seismic refraction, downhole seismic, MASW, acoustic televiewer, and resistivity), standpipe piezometers, and soil/rock laboratory testing.
• Full-time onsite supervision and subcontractor management of geotechnical drilling, geophysical surveys, and cone penetration testing.
• Creation of a site-specific geotechnical model with associated design parameters.
• Analysis of SCPTu data using the Geologismiki software CPeT-IT.
• Development of foundation recommendations for onshore structures and roadways, and for offshore structures, including an offload facility, floating storage area, ferry terminal, and water intake.
• Evaluation of foreshore and offshore slope stability.
• Assessment of liquefaction potential using the Geologismiki software CLiq.    
• Conducting a site-specific seismic hazard analysis.
• Assessment of the tsunamic hazard due to submarine landslides.
• Environmental fieldwork, including bird surveys, contaminated soil sampling, and water quality sampling.

Knight Piésold worked approximately 5,000 person-hours between 2014 and 2015, with a total of 25 staff working on the project in varying amounts.