By Chester Dawson 

CALGARY-- Korea Gas Corp. is seeking to sell part of its 15% stake in a Royal Dutch Shell PLC-led natural gas export terminal planned for the Pacific coast of Canada, according to a spokesperson for the project.

The project, dubbed LNG Canada, is one of 18 multibillion-dollar terminals proposed for shipping LNG to global markets, and particularly Asia, from Canada's west coast. None of the plants have been built, as there have been concerns about construction and operational costs.

"We are aware that Kogas is investigating divesting some of its share interest in LNG Canada," the project spokesperson said. "LNG Canada remains committed to working together to move the proposed project forward and continue working toward project milestones before making a final investment decision," the spokesperson said.

Shell's Canadian unit owns half of the LNG project in partnership with affiliates of Chinese state-owned energy company PetroChina Co., which owns another 20%, along with 15% stakes each for Korea Gas and Japan's Mitsubishi Corp. Korea Gas and Mitsubishi have already trimmed their stakes from 20% each in April and Shell has increased its share from 40%.

The planned move to further pare its stake was first reported by energy data provider Platts, which quoted a Korea Gas executive as saying the company aims to sell an additional 5% of its equity in LNG Canada by the end of the year. Representatives for the company in Canada were unavailable for immediate comment.

Earlier this month, documents filed with regulators in British Columbia showed the LNG Canada project could cost up to 40 billion Canadian dollars ($35.3 billion). Shell has said it would make a decision by mid-decade on the plant and that construction would take about five years before production begins.

The cost would range from C$25 billion to C$40 billion, not including a C$4 billion pipeline to carry shale gas 400 miles (644 kilometers) from inland British Columbia, according to LNG Canada's filing with the British Columbia government for an environmental assessment certificate, a key regulatory requirement.

Write to Chester Dawson at chester.dawson@wsj.com

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