The B.C. government has announced that Minister of Natural Gas Development Rich Coleman will depart for Asia October 11 to promote B.C.’s burgeoning natural gas industry, just after Malaysia’s Petronas Energy announced it would be investing $36 billion in its B.C. LNG project.
Coleman will travel to Korea, China and Malaysia to meet with energy companies.
According to the government, the trip “will be an opportunity to highlight the province’s competitive advantages to new investors, reinforce its commitment to deliver energy solutions to customers in Asia and ensure these investors have an opportunity to clearly understand how investing in B.C. will deliver tangible benefits to their customers and the province.”
During the trip, Coleman will deliver a speech at the World Energy Conference in Daegu, South Korea and the Canada-China Energy and Environment Forum in Beijing, China.
Coleman’s trip comes on the heels of Malaysian energy giant Petronas’ announcement that it will commit $36 billion to its proposed liquefied natural gas project, Pacific Northwest LNG, in Prince Rupert, B.C.
The announcement was made October 6 in Malaysia. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is currently travelling in Asia on a trade mission and has met with Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak.
The $36 billion pledge is to build a liquefied natural gas export facility on Lelu Island in Prince Rupert and a pipeline from northeast B.C. to supply the plant. Of that $36 billion, $5 billion has already been spent on Petronas’ takeover of Canada’s Progress Energy late last year.
The $36 billion commitment, however, is conditional on the Pacific Northwest LNG project being built. No final investment decision has yet been made.
Petronas owns 90% of Pacific NorthWest LNG. The remaining 10% of the project is owned by Japan Petroleum Exploration Company (Japex).
In early July, Pacific NorthWest LNG applied for an export licence from the National Energy Board for 19.68 million tonnes of LNG for 25 years. The licence has not yet been approved.
