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LNG viable for long term, NDP minister says

Interest still strong despite 91Ƶmajor plummet91Ƶ of prices
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LNG Canada CEO Andy Calitz announces project proceeding to engineering and environmental assessment, joined by officials from PetroChina, Mitsubishi and Korea Gas as well as Premier Christy Clark and Natural Gas Development MInister Rich Coleman, April 30, 2014. (Black Press files)

The cancellation of a second liquefied natural gas export project on B.C.91Ƶs North Coast is a disappointment, but long-term prospects for the industry remain strong, B.C. Energy Minister Michelle Mungall says.

Chinese-owned Nexen Energy and its Japanese partner INPEX Gas B.C. the are cancelling their Aurora LNG project in the Prince Rupert area. This follows the July cancellation of a project backed by Petronas and its international partners for the same region.

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The change of government from the LNG-promoting Christy Clark B.C. Liberals to the NDP had nothing to do with the decision, Mungall said Tuesday. One of the NDP91Ƶs first acts on taking office was to cancel the annual LNG industry conference in Vancouver.

91ƵWhen we spoke with Aurora LNG, they were very clear that this decision today is about global market pricing,91Ƶ Mungall said. 91ƵKeep in mind that when a lot of the proposals came forward, we were looking at about $18 per million BTUs and now it91Ƶs at $6 per million BTUs, so we91Ƶve seen a major plummet in global pricing, and that is the reason why Aurora made their decision.91Ƶ

In 2015, the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corp. (CNOOC) closed a $15 billion deal for Calgary-based Nexen Inc., including extensive gas field developments in northeast B.C., before launching the Aurora project.

91ƵThey are continuing their plays in the Horn River basin, so they are not exiting B.C. as a whole, they are just cancelling their LNG project,91Ƶ Mungall said.

91ƵEvery single player in the industry, every single company is saying that B.C. has some of the best natural gas in the world, and they are definitely committed to their projects.91Ƶ

Eight more projects are ongoing, including LNG Canada, a proposal for the Kitimat area backed by Shell Canada, Korea Gas, Mitsubishi and PetroChina.





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