KUALA LUMPUR (May 2): State oil firm Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is taking a stake in the LNG Canada project in Kitimat, British Columbia (B.C.) according to a report by Business in Vancouver (BIV).

In a report yesterday, BIV said that when Petronas announced last year that it was pulling the plug on its CAD$36 billion Pacific NorthWest LNG project, but keeping its upstream assets in B.C., a number of industry insiders and analysts speculated Petronas would eventually resurface in B.C. with some other LNG project.

Petronas cancelled its CAD$36 billion project in Prince Rupert in July 2017, just a couple of months after the NDP came to power through an agreement with the Green Party.

BIV said that in a recent interview, Michelle Mungall, minister of Energy, Mines and Petroleum Resources, let it slip that Petronas was taking a stake in LNG Canada.

It reported that when asked about the perception that B.C. was sending international investors some negative signals, Mungall pointed out that Petronas made it clear when it cancelled its PNW LNG project that it was due to market conditions, and did not blame the new government.

“That wasn’t about government as regulator, or their relationship with First Nations whatsoever,” Mungall said. “That was purely a pricing issue for them.

“And to fully emphasize that point, Petronas is now investing in LNG Canada’s project,” she added, said the report.

BIV said neither Petronas nor LNG Canada had confirmed the deal.

It said LNG Canada referred questions to Shell Canada.

Shell is the majority stakeholder in a joint venture that includes PetroChina, Kogas and Mitsubishi.

In an email to BIV, a Shell Canada spokesperson wrote: "It is our long-standing policy not to comment on commercial matters."

Petronas has not yet responded to questions from BIV.