Rich Coleman points to April 2017 as decision time for Pacific NorthWest/Petronas project

If the Deputy Premier and LNG Minister for British Columbia has his sources right, we should all learn more about the fate of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project sometime in April of 2017.

That update coming by way of a Bloomberg News story from Tuesday, which examines Rich Coleman's thoughts on the status of the project and LNG in the province in general.

On the theme of the Pacific NorthWest project of interest to residents of the Northwest, the Deputy Premier notes that Petronas officials have to "go out and re-price the project" something that Mr. Coleman says should be complete within three to six months.

He also observes that at that point the Malaysian energy company will "go back to the partners and decide whether to make a final investment decision".

Further in to the Bloomberg article, Coleman provides a glimpse into his recent meetings with Petronas executives which took place last month in the Malaysian capital. Expressing his confidence that the the original partners were "still in" adding that "they have a really strong focus on getting it to be financially viable".

You can review the full Bloomberg article here.

Petronas officials are still reviewing the recent decision from the Federal government which approved the project with 190 conditions.

As well, the company is taking stock of the current state of the oil and gas industry and whether changing conditions offer up any need to readdress their investment plans in British Columbia.

Deputy Premier and LNG Minister
Rich Coleman suggests that April
is the most likely time for a final
decision for Pacific NorthWest LNG

If the timeline Mr. Coleman suggests holds up, it will provide for some interesting timing when it comes to an announcement on a highly anticipated and controversial project that the BC government has dedicated a fair amount of time towards.

While the prospect of a six month delay will only add to the tension in the Northwest related to the proposed development. An announcement made in April would instantly become one of the key themes for the Provincial election that will take place in May.

In the end, whichever way that Petronas announcement may go, it will surely become one of the major discussion points for both the provincial race and the contest locally for the riding here on the North Coast.

More items of interest on the Pacific NorthWest LNG project can be found on our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.