Close X
Friday, November 1, 2024
ADVT 
National

Blockbuster US $70-Billion Shell-BG Deal Could Weigh On B.C. LNG Plan

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Apr, 2015 01:53 PM
    CALGARY — Royal Dutch Shell's US$70-billion deal to buy Britain's BG Group could mean fewer contenders in British Columbia's LNG race.
     
    Both Shell and BG have a big global presence when it comes to liquefied natural gas  — natural gas that is chilled into a liquid state so that it can be transported overseas on tankers.
     
    "Shell and BG will now be presumably looking to consolidate different assets, including potentially assets in the LNG space," said Alan Ross, a lawyer with Borden Ladner Gervais in Calgary who has worked on behalf of LNG clients.
     
    That includes projects each company has been working on in British Columbia.
     
    Shell leads a consortium of companies planning the LNG Canada project in Kitimat, which could cost up to US$40 billion. BG has its own project near Prince Rupert in the hopper, but last fall decided to pause work on it due to market uncertainty.
     
     
    There are 19 projects proposed for the West Coast, but none of their backers have made a firm decision to proceed. The outlook for B.C.'s nascent LNG industry has been clouded by low commodity prices and competition from projects elsewhere in the world that are further along.
     
    "It's unlikely in my view that most of the LNG projects that are currently proposed will get built," said Ross.
     
    "There's an awful lot of proposed LNG projects and simply not enough need for all of them."
     
    A report by Moody's Investors Service earlier this week painted a gloomy picture of the global LNG industry's prospects.
     
    It predicted the "vast majority" of projects planned in the United States and Canada are likely to be cancelled as the price advantage of LNG is "wiped out," although plants under construction are likely to still go ahead.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    RCMP Arrest Another Suspect In Canada-Wide Human-Smuggling, Prostitution Ring

    RCMP Arrest Another Suspect In Canada-Wide Human-Smuggling, Prostitution Ring
    MONTREAL — The RCMP says it has arrested another person in its investigation into a Canada-wide prostitution ring alleged to have smuggled more than 500 Asian women into the country.

    RCMP Arrest Another Suspect In Canada-Wide Human-Smuggling, Prostitution Ring

    Two More Cases Of Measles Diagnosed In B.C., Tied To High School Trip To China

    VANCOUVER — The deputy provincial health officer of British Columbia says four cases of measles have now been diagnosed and linked to a high-school trip to China.

    Two More Cases Of Measles Diagnosed In B.C., Tied To High School Trip To China

    Prime Minister Harper Announces Consolidation Of Federal Payroll Centres

    Prime Minister Stephen Harper made the announcement today in Miramichi, where he said one facility will be responsible for consolidating the public service's payroll system in an effort to save money.

    Prime Minister Harper Announces Consolidation Of Federal Payroll Centres

    Cancer Victim Won't Get Assist From Poilievre In Fight For Canada Pension Plan Disability

    Cancer Victim Won't Get Assist From Poilievre In Fight For Canada Pension Plan Disability
    OTTAWA — Employment Minister Pierre Poilievre will not intervene to ensure a terminally ill Alberta man denied Canada Pension Plan disability benefits finally gets his payments.

    Cancer Victim Won't Get Assist From Poilievre In Fight For Canada Pension Plan Disability

    Conservative Government To Deliver Its New Federal Budget Later Than Usual

    Conservative Government To Deliver Its New Federal Budget Later Than Usual
    Finance Minister Joe Oliver will deliver the latest federal budget on April 21. The budget — Oliver's first, but the 10th for the Harper government — comes later than usual. The government attributed the delay to the volatile oil price situation.

    Conservative Government To Deliver Its New Federal Budget Later Than Usual

    Charges Against 11 Accuseds In Drug Trafficking Ring In Vancouver's Impoverished Downtown Eastside

    Charges Against 11 Accuseds In Drug Trafficking Ring In Vancouver's Impoverished Downtown Eastside
    Supt. Mike Porteous says federal organized crime investigators and the RCMP assisted in serving search warrants in the city and in New Westminster, Coquitlam, Surrey and Maple Ridge. The total value of the seizures is estimated at $1.8 million.

    Charges Against 11 Accuseds In Drug Trafficking Ring In Vancouver's Impoverished Downtown Eastside