KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 18): Petroliam Nasional Bhd's (Petronas) 25%-owned LNG Canada's liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Kitimat, British Columbia worth C$18 billion (RM56.27 billion) is expected to be ready to deliver in the middle of this decade despite setbacks from the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a news report.

According to the Vancouver Sun, LNG Canada said major work of the project is ongoing, and it includes advanced site preparation, pile driving, dredging and construction of the marine terminal in Kitimat.

“Despite certain impacts resulting from the Covid-19 virus, LNG Canada and our engineering procurement and construction contractor JGC Fluor JV continue to hit critical construction milestones. We remain committed to delivering first cargo by the middle of this decade,” said Canada LNG’s director of corporate affairs Susannah Pierce in the report.

The report said the project will liquefy natural gas from northeast British Columbia in a plant at Kitimat in northwest British Columbia where it will be loaded onto ships and transported to Asian markets.

“The major players backing the project include Shell, Malaysian state-owned Petronas, state-owned PetroChina, Mitsubishi in Japan and South Korea’s KOGAS,” it said.

Furthermore, more than 3,200 workers are working on the project as safety measures are now in place. Previously, LNG Canada had to cut around 1,500 of workforces due to the pandemic.

On Oct 2, 2018, Petronas announced that it has taken a final investment decision on the LNG Canada project.

Petronas president and group CEO Tan Sri Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin commented: “This is the first LNG project in Canada and the project will pave the way for us to add value to our world-class gas resources in the North Montney area and strengthen our supply portfolio for LNG to the Asian markets."

Petronas said its wholly-owned entity, the North Montney LNG Ltd Partnership, owns 25% participating interest in the project, whose other joint venture participants are Royal Dutch Shell plc, PetroChina Co Ltd, Mitsubishi Corp and Korea Gas Corp.

The Malaysian state-owned energy firm said Royal Dutch Shell through its affiliate Shell Canada Energy owns 40% of the project, while Korea Gas via its unit Kogas Canada LNG Ltd has a 5% stake. Meanwhile, PetroChina via subsidiary PetroChina Canada Ltd and Mitsubishi via subsidiary Diamond LNG Canada Ltd each own 15% of the project.

Petronas said the project is operated through LNG Canada Development Inc.