Key points

  • LNG Canada took a final investment decision on a $33 billion Phase 2 expansion at Kitimat, British Columbia, on September 29, doubling capacity to 28 million tonnes a year.
  • The process modules will again be fabricated in China by state-owned COOEC, the yard that built Phase 1.
  • Across the four US-listed steel producers in our record, only Commercial Metals (CMC) shows open-market purchases on Form 4 in 2026.

LNG Canada told CBC News that the $33 billion Phase 2 expansion of its Kitimat export terminal will be built with Chinese steel. The consortium — Shell at 40%, Petronas at 25%, PetroChina at 15%, Mitsubishi at 15% and KOGAS at 5% — approved the project on September 29. Two more liquefaction trains take the terminal from 14 to 28 million tonnes a year and bring about 4,000 construction jobs.

The modules come from China Offshore Oil Engineering Co., the state-owned yard that fabricated Phase 1. A company spokesperson said no Canadian yard can build modules of that scale, and that only five yards worldwide combine the space, quality systems and marine access the scope requires. The Canadian Institute of Steel Construction disputes that and says it has not been approached.

Asked at the announcement which steel would be used, Prime Minister Mark Carney said it was "a great question for the proponents" and that he would leave the decision to them. In September 2025 he had said major projects would sit at the heart of a Buy Canadian policy built with Canadian steel. Phase 1 received a remission from anti-dumping duties on Chinese fabricated steel valued at about $1 billion; those duties lapsed after five years and were not renewed, so no tariff applies to the Phase 2 modules.

The insider angle

Form 4 filings reviewed by InsiderBuying.com show the US steel producers entering this cycle without insider buying. Nucor (NUE) recorded 126 Form 4 transactions in 2026 and not one open-market purchase, against 32 sales. Steel Dynamics (STLD) recorded 107 with no open-market purchases, and Cleveland-Cliffs (CLF) 14 with none.

Commercial Metals (CMC) is the exception. Chief executive Peter Matt made an open-market purchase of 8,230 shares at $61.30 on July 10, worth $504,499, and director John McPherson bought 1,390 shares at $71.92 on August 13, worth $99,969. Director Dennis Arriola bought $149,380 in January. Algoma Steel (ASTL), the Canadian producer the Buy Canadian argument turns on, files in Canada and sits outside our Form 4 record, because we do not ingest SEDI.

Market reaction

The decision landed days before Carney's visit to Beijing, where the BBC reported that Xi Jinping hailed a "turnaround" in relations and the two leaders announced a new strategic partnership. China agreed to cut tariffs on Canadian canola seed, peas and some seafood, and Canada agreed to admit 49,000 Chinese electric vehicles at a 6.1% rate. Commercial Metals carries 17 analyst price targets averaging $80, about 26% above its October 3 close of $63.58.

What to watch

Coastal GasLink's new compression stations are targeting almost 15,000 tonnes of Canadian steel, about 70% of the steel that scope requires. The next disclosures to watch are whether the steel institute's talks with LNG Canada change the module scope, and any further Form 4 activity at the producers above. The full Insider Score sits on the premium tier.

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