TOKYO, JAPAN - Premier Christy Clark continued her Jobs and Trade Mission today by touring the Negishi Terminal, Asia's first liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility, and promoting B.C.'s promising LNG sector to potential Japanese partners.

"This is a great opportunity to see, first hand, how an LNG terminal works, the types of jobs and skills required to work in the industry and of course, to see how much more real market demand there is for LNG in Japan right now," said Premier Clark. "Japan imports the most LNG in the world and I am here to tell them that British Columbia has vast natural gas resources and our government is committed to developing and growing this sector."

Entering the Asian market will help diversify B.C.'s natural gas sector, allowing it to be more competitive. Japan and Korea are the top two importers of LNG in the world, and B.C. has the natural resources and ideal location as North America's shortest route to Asia to help supply that demand.

Premier Clark's tour of the Negishi LNG Terminal, which opened in 1969, follows closely the announcement by Shell Canada Limited, Korea Gas Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation and PetroChina Company Limited that they will jointly develop an LNG export facility near Kitimat, called LNG Canada. The project will consist of two LNG processing units, each with the capacity to produce six million tonnes of LNG annually, with an option to expand in the future.

"This project will have countless economic benefits for the region and the rest of the province, creating thousands of jobs during construction and hundreds of permanent, full-time jobs during operation," said Premier Clark.

Our government's LNG Strategy, a part of Canada Starts Here: The BC Jobs Plan, expects to see three LNG facilities operating by 2020, potentially creating 800 long-term jobs, as many as 9,000 new construction jobs, and thousands of spin-off economic jobs in areas such as transportation, engineering and environmental management.

In Tokyo, the B.C. government signed an MOU with Japan Oil Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) to work together and share information on natural gas activities. JOGMEC's key responsibility as a government-run organization is to seek a stable supply of natural resources for Japan, such as natural gas, oil and metallic minerals.

"Today's agreement with JOGMEC is really about expanding our relationship with Japan's main energy buyer while at the same time enhancing our opportunities in the overall natural gas field," said Premier Clark.

Contact:

Media Relations
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation
250 356-7104

A backgrounder follows.

BACKGROUNDER

Trade Mission Key Announcement for Wednesday, May 16

• The Government of British Columbia and Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation signed a Memorandum of Understanding covering cooperation and information sharing on natural gas activities in B.C.

Stay up to Date with the Trade Mission

Media can download raw footage, photos, audio on http://www.sendtonews.com/ when it is available.

To view and download photos from the Asia Trade Mission visit: http://flic.kr/s/aHsjz4PFfy

Follow the Asia Trade Mission at:

http://www.britishcolumbia.ca/Connect/PremiersMission2012/Pages/PremiersMission.aspx

Contact:

Media Relations
Government Communications and Public Engagement
Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Innovation
250 356-7104