Dirk Meissner
The 91原创 Press
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Premier Christy Clark says her government鈥檚 plan to export liquefied natural gas to Asia is British Columbia鈥檚 economic equivalent to Alberta鈥檚 oilsands.
In an interview with the 91原创 Press, Clark said B.C.鈥檚 LNG development ambitions will transform the economy, but the province must act quickly before the opportunity evaporates like gas into the atmosphere.
Clark, who has spent the last year describing her 鈥渂old鈥� and 鈥渁udacious鈥� plan to turn B.C. into Canada鈥檚 job-creation engine, said British Columbians will still be cashing in on the benefits of LNG exports 50 years from now.
鈥淭hink about it in these terms: What oil has been to Alberta since the 1970s-鈥�80s is what LNG is going to be for British Columbia, nothing less than that,鈥� said Clark.
鈥淓nergy output from LNG will likely be as big as the total energy output today from the oilsands,鈥� she said.
Experts in the LNG industry do not completely agree with Clark鈥檚 Alberta oilsands comparison, but are on board in describing the opportunity as monumental and one that should be fast tracked.
鈥淭his is huge,鈥� said Ron Loberec, Deloitte鈥檚 91原创 resources spokesman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a no-brainer. Australia is going to make tens of billions of dollars out of these gas contracts. You鈥檝e got to say yes to something.鈥�
Loberec, who is based in Calgary, said Clark鈥檚 statement about LNG in B.C. rivalling oilsands in Alberta is 鈥渁rguing quantum, but I think it鈥檚 a significant opportunity.鈥�
Recent Alberta government statistics indicate royalties from the oilsands were $3.7 billion in 2010-2011.
The 91原创 Energy Research Institute reported Alberta can expect $350 billion in royalties and $122 billion in provincial and municipal tax revenue from the oilsands over the next 25 years.
About 151,000 Albertans were directly employed in the oil and gas extraction and mining sectors in 2011, about one of every 14 jobs in the province.
International LNG development expert Zoher Meratla, whose Whistler company, CDS Research Ltd., has been in the LNG industry for 35 years, said Clark is not off base when she puts B.C.鈥檚 LNG opportunities on the same scale as Alberta鈥檚 oilsands.
鈥淓conomically, it鈥檚 similar to the oilsands,鈥� said Meratla, who has worked on LNG projects in Australia, Africa, the Middle East, Russia and Norway. 鈥淚t鈥檚 exactly in the same league, and we have the advantage that we don鈥檛 carry the environmental burden.鈥�
Clark鈥檚 jobs plan, introduced in September 2011, said global trade in LNG 鈥� natural gas that is cooled to the point where it can be loaded onto tankers 鈥� doubled over the last decade and is expected to increase by another 50 per cent by 2020.
She said her government is committed to working with the gas industry to build a pipeline from the province鈥檚 northeast natural gas fields to an LNG terminal in northwest B.C. near Kitimat, where the product will be shipped to Asia.
Currently, natural gas prices in North America are at historic lows and Asian prices are more than three times higher than those in B.C.
Clark said the Liberals have their sights set on opening three LNG operations in B.C. by 2020, with the first up and running by 2015.
In October 2011, the National Energy Board granted Kitimat LNG a 20-year export licence to serve international markets.
Kitimat LNG partners include Apache Corp., EOG Resources Inc., and Encana Corp. Kitimat鈥檚 Haisla Nation is also involved in the project, which includes the terminal site on their traditional lands.
Clark鈥檚 Liberals say the completed LNG plants will create up to 1,000 direct jobs and up to 9,000 jobs during the eight-year construction phase.
She said the projects are set to generate $20 billion in direct investment and the LNG revenues could contribute up to $2 billion annually in provincial revenues.
