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Petronas threatens to ‘call off’ $10-billion B.C. LNG project: report
Malaysia’s state-owned oil-and-gas giant Petronas is threatening to cancel a $10-billion (U.S.) liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia, according to a news report.
Petronas chief executive officer Shamsul Abbas told the Financial Times in an interview that he is “ready to call off” the Pacific NorthWest LNG project amid a delayed regulatory approval process, plans by the B.C. government to impose an LNG tax and a “lack of appropriate incentives.”
The comments come as Canada’s plans to become a major exporter of LNG – particularly to Asia – face intensifying global competition.
There are more than a dozen ventures envisaged for B.C., far too many given the rapid expansion of exports from the shale-gas rich United States, Australia and elsewhere, experts say.
“The way things are developing the project remains uncertain and I doubt we will be able to make a positive [final investment decision] by year-end,” Mr. Abbas is quoted as saying in the FT article.
“Rather than ensuring the development of the LNG industry through appropriate incentives and assurances of legal and fiscal stability, the Canadian landscape of LNG development is now one of uncertainty, delay and short vision,” Mr. Abbas said.
He is expected to visit Canada Friday.
The U.S. is now “leading Canada by a far stretch” in the LNG game, Mr. Abbas said, according to the report.
Canada is “already 40 years behind in the game.
“Canada has to buck up real fast to be a credible global LNG player if it wants to be taken seriously by potential investors. Until investors cross the final investment line with an economically viable project, they remain just potential investors on paper,” the Financial Times reports.
Malaysia’s state-owned oil-and-gas giant Petronas is threatening to cancel a $10-billion (U.S.) liquefied natural gas project in British Columbia, according to a news report.
Petronas chief executive officer Shamsul Abbas told the Financial Times in an interview that he is “ready to call off” the Pacific NorthWest LNG project amid a delayed regulatory approval process, plans by the B.C. government to impose an LNG tax and a “lack of appropriate incentives.”
The comments come as Canada’s plans to become a major exporter of LNG – particularly to Asia – face intensifying global competition.
There are more than a dozen ventures envisaged for B.C., far too many given the rapid expansion of exports from the shale-gas rich United States, Australia and elsewhere, experts say.
“The way things are developing the project remains uncertain and I doubt we will be able to make a positive [final investment decision] by year-end,” Mr. Abbas is quoted as saying in the FT article.
“Rather than ensuring the development of the LNG industry through appropriate incentives and assurances of legal and fiscal stability, the Canadian landscape of LNG development is now one of uncertainty, delay and short vision,” Mr. Abbas said.
He is expected to visit Canada Friday.
The U.S. is now “leading Canada by a far stretch” in the LNG game, Mr. Abbas said, according to the report.
Canada is “already 40 years behind in the game.
“Canada has to buck up real fast to be a credible global LNG player if it wants to be taken seriously by potential investors. Until investors cross the final investment line with an economically viable project, they remain just potential investors on paper,” the Financial Times reports.
