Executive of Malaysian energy company Petronas says that the company has no plans to leave Canada

The CEO of Petronas' Canadian subsidiary, who spoke on Tuesday, said that the Malaysian company has no plans to abandon Canada. He added that the company was committed to exporting LNG off Canada's West Coast for decades.

Petronas Canada's CEO Mark Fitzgerald said that the rumor of Petronas leaving Canada was "absolutely not true" on the sidelines an energy conference held in Calgary. Bloomberg reported that Petronas is considering selling its Canadian company Progress Energy Resources Corp. Malaysian newspapers have reported that Petronas has said it needs to "right-size its workforce" to ensure its survival in the future. LNG Canada is the first liquefied gas export facility in Malaysia. It's a joint venture between Shell Canada, Petronas, PetroChina and Kogas. The first cargoes are expected to be shipped by mid-2025. The partners are looking at a possible expansion that could include the construction of two additional LNG trains, which would double plant capacity to 28 millions tonnes per year. Shell Canada President Stastia West stated on Tuesday, at the conference, that Shell will decide whether or not to expand the plant based on the overall cost and competitiveness of the project as well as the other projects in the portfolio. Fitzgerald, speaking on a panel at the conference, said that Canadian West Coast LNG is competitive with any project being developed in America, as it has access to low-cost natural gas coming from Western Canada and to Pacific export markets. In recent years, he said that investors were deterred from investing in Canada by the perceived unfriendly regulatory climate. Mark Carney, the new Canadian prime minister who was elected to a minority government last April, pledged that he would shorten permit times by identifying projects of national importance and accelerating them. He said this in order to help Canada become a conventional energy superpower and a clean energy superpower. Fitzgerald stated that Canada must develop a national LNG strategy and natural gas plan, and investment will be attracted to the country quickly if it keeps its promise to reduce permit times. Reporting by Amanda Stephenson, Denver; Writing by Liz Hampton; Editing and Rod Nickel

(source: Reuters)