Rich Coleman’s hard work is starting to pay off.
The Fort Langley-Aldergrove MLA, minister of natural gas development and deputy premier, has spent a great deal of his time over the past two years on the liquefied natural gas “file.” This initiative, promised by Premer Christy Clark during the 2013 election campaign, was supposed to pump a great deal of money into the B.C. economy by opening up new natural gas markets, at a time when the traditional B.C. natural gas market in the United States began to dry up.
While Clark promised a debt-free B.C. and a “prosperity fund” modelled on Alberta’s heritage fund, it is likely that LNG will not be quite that lucrative. For one thing, the prices that Asian customers are willing to pay aren’t as high as projected two years ago, For another, there are many other sources of natural gas, including Russia. China has already made an agreement with Russia to buy large quantities of its production.
Nonetheless, the announcement Friday by Petronas, the large Malaysian company, that it is ready to invest in an LNG plant near Prince Rupert is a huge step forward. Petronas has long been seen as the proponent most likely to go ahead with building a plant. It has a number of customers lined up, and already owns natural gas wells in the B.C. northeast.
Petronas said that the B.C. government needs to adopt as legislation the reduced royalty rates it has already verbally agreed to. That will take place in a legislative session in July. An environmental assessment process must also be completed to everyone’s satisfaction.
The Lax Kw’alaams First Nation has already voted against the Petronas plant, over fears that construction will damage sensitive rearing areas for young salmon near the mouth of the Skeena River. Coleman said he believes these concerns can be dealt with, but this may prove to be a very major hurdle.
Coleman has proved adept at meeting all kinds of people in his quest to bring a large LNG plant online. If he can work out an arrangement with the Lax Kw’alaams, the plant will almost certainly be built, and a new era of jobs and economic development will begin.