British Columbia's goal to diversify the natural gas sector and expand market access to the province's abundant supply of clean energy took another step forward today with Pacific NorthWest LNG submitting an export application with Canada's National Energy Board (NEB).

"Pacific NorthWest LNG's export application marks another positive development in our goal to provide clean natural gas to growing markets in Asia," said Premier Christy Clark. "By increasing the demand and reach of our natural gas sector, we will create jobs, strengthen our economy and put British Columbia on a prosperous path to a debt-free future."

"British Columbia has an unprecedented opportunity to create lasting benefits for the entire province with the world's cleanest-burning fossil fuel," said Rich Coleman, Minister of Natural Gas Development. "The Pacific NorthWest LNG export application is great news, representing the latest milestone in our commitment to develop a new export industry that will put us on a path to new prosperity."

Pacific NorthWest LNG is a liquefied natural gas export operation proposed on Lelu Island within the District of Port Edward, near Prince Rupert. The facility would liquefy and ship natural gas from northeastern B.C to markets in Asia. Pacific NorthWest LNG is requesting to export 19.68 million tonnes of LNG annually for 25 years.

"The recent submission of our NEB export licence application represents another important step in bringing our LNG project to reality," said Greg Kist, president of Pacific NorthWest LNG. "We are encouraged by Premier Clark's commitment to creating and maintaining a positive environment for investment in the LNG business and believe that a successful LNG industry will have a significant positive economic and social impact on the province for decades to come."

The government of British Columbia is proactively pursuing liquefied natural gas (LNG) export development because it will create jobs and economic prospects. The Pacific NorthWest LNG project itself is expected to create up to 3,500 jobs during peak construction and 200 to 300 jobs in long-term operations. The amount of capital investment required could reach up to $11 billion.

As part of government's LNG plans and commitment to strengthen the economy, work is underway to finalize a BC Prosperity Fund this year. This fund will secure over $100 billion in future wealth to help government eliminate the provincial debt over time, reduce cost burdens on families, and support important services like health care and education.

Quick facts:

• To date, the NEB has issued export licences to three LNG proponents:

• A 20-year export licence was approved in February 2012 for the Douglas Channel Energy project (Texas company/Haisla Nation/Golar LNG and an investor to be named later).

• A 20-year licence was granted in October 2011 to Kitimat LNG (Apache Corp. and Chevron Canada).

• LNG Canada (Shell and co-venture partners) received an export licence in February 2013.

• In addition to Pacific NorthWest LNG's export application, the NEB is currently reviewing two other licence requests:

• An export application from BG Group for the Prince Rupert LNG proposal.

• An export application for a proposal by Imperial Oil and ExxonMobil Canada. The proponents are currently assessing a site location.

• The NEB is an independent federal regulator of Canada's energy industry. Its purpose is to regulate pipelines, energy development and trade in the Canadian public interest.

Learn More:

British Columbia's Liquefied Natural Gas Strategy: http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/SiteCollectionDocuments/LNGreport_web_130627.pdf

One Year Update: http://www.gov.bc.ca/com/attachments/LNGreport_update2013_web130207.pdf

The Pacific NorthWest LNG website: http://pacificnorthwestlng.com/

The National Energy Board website: http://www.neb-one.gc.ca/clf-nsi/index.html

A backgrounder follows.

Media Contacts:

Ben Chin
Office of the Premier
250 588-3113

Sandra Steilo
Media Relations
Ministry of Natural Gas Development
250 952-0617

BACKGROUNDER

Export approvals provide market access for LNG

On Feb. 3, 2012, the government of B.C. released its LNG Strategy alongside a plan to grow and diversify the province's clean natural gas sector. To achieve this vision, B.C.'s natural gas will need to reach growing markets outside of North America.

Below is a full list of the LNG project proposals in B.C. which have received, or have submitted an application for, an export licence.

Douglas Channel Energy project
Proponent: Douglas Channel Energy Partnership (Texas company/ Haisla Nation/Golar LNG and an investor to be named later)
Location: Kitimat (floating facility)
Export: A 20-year export licence was obtained in February 2012. The licence authorizes the facility to export 1.8 million tonnes of LNG a year.

Kitimat LNG
Proponent: Apache Corp. and Chevron Canada
Location: Kitimat
Export: A 20-year licence was granted in October 2011 to export 10 million tonnes of natural gas annually.

LNG Canada
Proponent: Shell Canada and their co-venture partners - KOGAS, Mitsubishi, and PetroChina
Location: Kitimat
Export: A 25-year export licence was obtained in February 2013 to export 24 million tonnes of natural gas annually.

Pacific NorthWest LNG
Proponent: PETRONAS/Progress Energy
Location: Prince Rupert
Export: The proponents submitted an application to the NEB on July 5, 2013, to export 19.68 million tonnes of LNG annually for 25 years.

Prince Rupert LNG
Proponent: BG Group
Location: Prince Rupert
Export: The BG Group submitted an application to export 21.6 million metric tonnes of LNG annually. The application was submitted to the NEB in June 2013.

Imperial Oil/ExxonMobil project
Proponents: Imperial Oil and ExxonMobil Canada Ltd.
Location: To be determined. The proponents are assessing potential site locations now.
Export: In June 2013, the two partners submitted an export application to export 30 million metric tonnes of LNG annually.

Contact:

Sandra Steilo
Media Relations
Ministry of Natural Gas Development
250 952-0617