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Feds approve LNG project

UPDATED: 6:52 p.m.

Premier Christy Clark says the recently federally-approved Pacific NorthWest LNG project is now in the hands of Petronas, the energy company building the $36-billion project.

Clark says the future of the project will be determined by market conditions.

Low global oil prices and an increasing supply of natural gas have depressed international prices for LNG, making the economics of the project less certain than they were when it was first announced in 2013.

“I don't know when the market conditions might improve enough for these projects to go ahead,” Clark said. "This project wouldnt have been going anywhere, no matter what happens to prices, if it hadn't been approved by the federal government today."

A spokesman for Pacific NorthWest LNG said Monday that any decision to begin construction would still have to go to the company's shareholders if Ottawa approved the plan, but the company applauded the decision on Tuesday night.

"This is a significant milestone for Pacific NorthWest LNG and our shareholders," it said in a statement.


ORIGINAL: 6:15 P.M.

The federal government has approved the $36-billion Pacific NorthWest liquified natural gas project, the first LNG project of its kind.

At a press conference Tuesday night, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna, Natural Resources Minister Jim Carr, Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Premier Christy Clark announced cabinet's decision, noting the approval comes with 190 conditions.

The project has been pushed by B.C.'s Premier Christy Clark, who campaigned in 2013 on promises of revenue from LNG projects solving any of the province's future financial woes.

The project, which would transport B.C.'s natural gas to a terminal near Prince Rupert, would be run by Petronas, a Malaysian-owned energy company.

Petronas said in August that it would have to reassess the project once it was approved.

The Province has already approved the project, but the federal government had until Oct. 2 to make a decision.

It has faced criticism, both for the carbon emissions the natural gas would produce and the impact the terminal may have on local wild salmon habitat.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency released a draft environmental report in February that found the project would not seriously harm fish habitat, but would produce 5.3-million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year and another 6.5-million to 8.7-million tonnes from collection and transportation of the natural gas.

- With files from The Canadian Press



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