The new LNG Canada facility in Kitimat, B.C., began shipping liquefied natural gas in July but is not expected to reach full capacity until later in the year. Photo by Government of B.C.

Natural gas producers are scrambling to cut production as prices in Western Canada plunge below zero — a rare phenomenon brought on by a historic glut and a slow-than-expected ramp up of a new processing and shipping terminal on the British Columbia coast.

The daily spot price for natural gas at Alberta’s benchmark AECO hub settled between minus 55 cents and minus 80 cents per gigajoule (GJ) this week, according to a Friday research note from National Bank of Canada Capital Markets. The note suggested that September is on track to post the lowest AECO prices in more than a decade.

“It’s been a frustra

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