B.C. minister says province’s LNG industry to kick-start in 2015

VICTORIA—Natural Gas Development Minister Rich Coleman said he expects British Columbia’s dreams of building a liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry will come true in 2015 with energy companies deciding to proceed on plans to build pipelines and export terminals.

In an statement, Coleman said several leading LNG proponents will make final investment decisions this year to move ahead with some of the largest capital projects in the province’s history.

Coleman’s comments come despite plummeting world oil and gas prices and announcements last year by two major LNG developers that they were gearing down B.C. development plans for economic reasons.

The B.C. government was anticipating a final approval for the multi-billion-dollar Petronas-backed Pacific NorthWest LNG plant near Prince Rupert, B.C., but the Malaysian state-owned company decided to take more time to review its bottom line options.

Coleman’s statement said B.C. remains on track to meet its 2011 jobs-plan goal of three LNG facilities in operation by 2020.

The jobs plan states that one LNG pipeline and terminal would be in operation in Kitimat, B.C., by 2015 and three in operation by 2020.