B.C. Prepares Tax Incentives For LNG Projects

The government of British Columbia has proposed tax incentives for energy companies with ambitions in the LNG segment, CBC reports, citing Finance Minister Carole James, who claims that such incentives would create thousands of jobs.

"British Columbians are counting on us to attract LNG investment that meets strict conditions: delivering jobs and financial benefits to B.C., creating economic partnerships with Indigenous peoples and protecting our clean air, land and water," the minister said.

The proposal was announced soon after the British Columbian government praised the final investment decision on the US$31-billion LNG Canada project, which was announced last October, after months of uncertainty.

LNG Canada will be the first liquefied natural gas production and export facility in the country, and according to federal PM Justin Trudeau, it “is the single largest private sector investment project in Canadian history.”

LNG Canada is a project of Shell, with a 40-percent stake, Malaysia’s Petronas with 25 percent, PetroChina with 15 percent, Mitsubishi with 15 percent, and South Korea’s Kogas with 5 percent.

Given the size of the investment and the potential job creation, it would make sense for the NDP government to seek to attract more energy projects in this segment while it continues to staunchly oppose the expansion of the Trans Mountain oil pipeline. However, there is opposition against LNG Canada as well.

Most recently, LNG Canada made headlines when work on the GasLink pipeline that would feed natural gas to the B.C. coast liquefaction facility was halted after a couple of indigenous artifacts were found at the construction site.

The artifacts, according to the B.C. energy regulator, did not originate in the place where they were found. Some read this as the regulator insinuating that they were put there to stop work on the pipeline, which some First Nations are protesting against passing through their territory.

By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com

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