Wan Zulkiflee: We are determined to monetise Canadian LNG project

KUALA LUMPUR: Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) is determined to monetise the US$27 billion (RM120 billion) Canadian liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal project, said president and chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Wan Zulkiflee Wan Ariffin.

“We have about 24 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves there. So we are determined to monetise these reserves in one way or the other. For Petronas, aside from Malaysia, Canada has the second largest gas reserve.

“As this is a big decision in terms of investment, we are looking at how to make the LNG plant the most competitive among other North American LNG plants.

“If we need to take our time, we will take our time because we want to be sure that this is the right decision,” he said at a briefing on Petronas’s 2016 financial results, here, yesterday.

Executive vice-president and CEO (upstream) Datuk Mohd Anuar Taib said the company was assessing the Pacific North-West LNG project and the market conditions.

“It is a complex process and we are figuring out how do to make it competitive by looking at the cost structure and other options available.

“Once we have looked at the conditions of the market and made our evaluation, we will make our decision,” he said.

Last September, the Canadian government issued a conditional approval to the project that came with 190 conditions.

These included a cap on carbon gas emissions and the hiring of an independent environmental monitoring group in consultation with indigenous tribes and local government.

Petronas is the majority owner of the LNG project, along with China Petrochemical Corp, Japan Petroleum Exploration Co, India Oil Corp and Brunei National Petroleum Co. Zarina Zakariah