LONDON, June 4 (Reuters) - Shell-led LNG

Canada, the country's first natural gas export terminal, could

deliver its first cargo earlier than previously planned, an

executive at the British company said.

The C$40 billion ($29 billion) liquefied natural gas (LNG)

project in British Columbia is in the final stages of

construction ahead of its planned startup in mid-2025, Shell's

head of integrated gas and upstream Zoe Yujnovich told Reuters

in an interview.

The giant project is central to Shell's ambitions to grow

its gas liquefaction capacity by 25-30% between 2022 and 2030 to

around 40 million metric tons per year (mtpa).

"It's always a balance between when we may get the first

cargo, which indeed could well be earlier, versus what I'm

really looking for that is a sustainable drumbeat of every cargo

that we get coming routinely and consistently," Yujnovich said.

"You can get slightly earlier cargoes but you may need to

then do additional work that comes after that," she added,

without giving more details.

Shell is the world's top trader of LNG, which it says will

play a central role for decades even as economies seek to phase

out their reliance on fossil fuels.

LNG Canada, which will produce 14 mtpa at its first phase of

development, is a joint venture between Shell, PetroChina

, Malaysia's Petronas, Japan's Mitsubishi Corporation ( MSBHF )

and South Korea's Kogas.

The Kitimat terminal will process up to 2 billion cubic feet

per day (bcfd), representing 11% of current Canadian gas output

and making it a major source of revenue for the provincial and

federal governments.

The project partners are working on the final aspects of the

project such as the installation of units after the completion

of TC Energy's ( TRP ) Coastal GasLink pipeline into the

terminal, Yujnovitch said.

A decision on whether to go ahead with the second phase of

the project is expected towards the end of this year, as the

partners assess the costs of the expansion, including the impact

of proposed government rules on carbon emissions and power

generation, she said.

($1 = 1.3622 Canadian dollars)