KUALA LUMPUR (April 29): Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) global LNG projects, upstream vice president Adnan Zainal Abidin will be taking the reins from Pacific NorthWest LNG chief to oversee the controversial RM36 billion Pacific NorthWest liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in northern British Columbia, news reports said today.
Canada's The Globe and Mail reported that Adnan will take over as Pacific NorthWest LNG president on Sunday (May 1).
Adnan will replace Michael Culbert, who will focus on his duties as chief executive officer of Calgary-based Progress Energy Canada Ltd, a natural gas producer that was acquired by Petronas in 2012 for US$5.2 billion (about RM20 billion), the report stated.
Culbert has been helming Pacific NorthWest LNG since October 2014.
"This team is the engineering and project management side, which will be built up around Adnan's skill set. It's a good sign for the project to bring that LNG construction expertise in," Culbert was reported as saying in an interview.
Pacific NorthWest LNG has also reportedly announced Petronas Upstream Malaysia senior vice president Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib as its new chairman, replacing former Petronas executive vice president Wee Yiaw Hin, who retired recently.
Culbert recently announced that Petronas' unit Progress Energy Ltd will be slashing its capital expenditure (capex) to US$500 million over the next two years from the initial US$5 billion planned over the next three years in the Pacific NorthWest LNG project.
The cuts are reportedly part of Petronas' US$11.4 billion reduction in capex across its portfolio over the next four years.
Petronas leads the Pacific NorthWest LNG consortium, which is made up of partners from Japan, China, India and Brunei, and is seeking to build a terminal on Lelu Island near Prince Rupert, British Columbia, to export LNG from British Columbia to Asia.
However, the project has earned the ire of local indigenous people, especially the Lax Kw'alaams First Nation, due to concerns over its impact on the environment as Lelu Island is at the mouth of the Skeena River, the second largest salmon-bearing river in British Columbia.
The project is being scrutinised by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, which is in the midst of seeking more information from the company.