By Judy McKinnon
The Canadian government said Wednesday it has approved four,
long-term licenses to export liquefied natural gas from proposed
projects on the country's west coast.
The licenses, which had received approval from Canada's National
Energy Board in December, are for LNG exports from proposed Pacific
Coast terminals backed by Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), BG Group PLC
(BG.LN) and Malaysian state-owned energy giant Petroliam Nasional
Bhd (PET.YY), or Petronas.
None of the proposed projects have been built or even formally
approved by their sponsors.
The government said in a statement that the licenses will allow
for the export of up to 73.38 million metric tons of LNG a
year.
Western Canada is aiming to become a major global supplier of
LNG by matching rising demand in Asia with abundant supplies of gas
in North America.
Specifically, Canada said it has approved export licenses for
the proposed Pacific NorthWest LNG, Prince Rupert LNG, WCC LNG and
Woodfibre LNG terminals.
When the NEB approved the 25-year licenses in December, Canada's
then Minister of Natural Resources, Joe Oliver, said the government
would "review" NEB decisions related to the granting of LNG export
licenses.
Write to Judy McKinnon at judy.mckinnon@wsj.com
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