Pacific NorthWest LNG project stalled by more than 190 federal conditions – by Brent Jang and Shawn McCarthy (Globe and Mail – September 29, 2016)

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/

VANCOUVER/OTTAWA — The consortium behind a massive energy project approved by the federal Liberal cabinet is hesitant about forging ahead even after investing billions of dollars in British Columbia.

Pacific NorthWest LNG, led by Malaysia’s state-owned Petronas, will need months to examine more than 190 conditions attached to Ottawa’s approval of a proposed B.C. terminal to export liquefied natural gas from Lelu Island.

“Petronas and its partners will study the conditions imposed by the Canadian authorities and conduct a total review of the proposed project prior to deciding on the next steps forward,” Petronas said Wednesday in a statement from Kuala Lumpur.

It was a muted response to an announcement made with great fanfare on Tuesday in Richmond, with Premier Christy Clark lauding the province’s four-year fight to get the project approved and federal Environment Minister Catherine McKenna praising the government’s insistence on environmental protections, as well as providing an economic boon.

Petronas’s response appeared to be a retreat for a company that has bet heavily on Canada’s resource industry. In 2012, the Malaysian company paid $5.2-billion to acquire Progress Energy Canada, a natural gas producer in northeast British Columbia.

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