Premier Christy Clark wrapped up a series of meetings in New York’s energy capital markets, confirming British Columbia's advantages for liquefied natural gas (LNG) investment, including cost competitiveness, stable business climate, and a solid fiscal foundation.

New York is the centre for energy capital markets; it influences global business decisions on investments in energy; and ranks second in the top 10 global financial centres. During her recent trade mission there, Premier Clark met with a number of executives in the financial community and energy industry to help further B.C.’s interests and meet three key objectives:

• Promote B.C.’s attractive investment climate for natural gas projects.
• Demonstrate B.C.’s commitment to building strong business relationships with the financial community.
• Showcase B.C.’s climate action policies, particularly in the energy sector.

“This was an opportunity to highlight B.C.’s competitive advantages, economic stability, and attractive investment climate to our industry partners south of the border,” said Premier Clark. “Face-to-face meetings like these are instrumental in building relationships and helping companies work towards final investment decisions.”

Premier Clark’s first engagement was a roundtable discussion concerning B.C.’s investment climate for LNG projects hosted by Canada’s Consul General John Prato and attended by representatives from several financial institutions. The province’s competitive business climate was highlighted, including the B.C. government’s efforts to cut taxes, reduce regulatory impediments, balance the budget and maintain a triple-A credit rating.

At the New York Energy Forum, organized by the Canadian Consulate and CIBC, Premier Clark discussed the Province’s new LNG tax regime and B.C.’s work to make its business climate one of the most competitive in North America. The Energy Forum, Inc. is a not-for-profit educational organization focused on increasing public understanding of significant regional, national and global energy issues.

A luncheon with the Canadian Association of New York (CANY) further helped heighten British Columbia’s profile and reinforce the Province’s commitment to building strong business relationships with the financial community and industry partners interested in assisting in the development of B.C.’s LNG potential.

This trade mission also provided an opportunity for Premier Clark to discuss B.C.’s work on climate action initiatives, including the energy goals in B.C.’s Liquefied Natural Gas Strategy. These goals include establishing emissions benchmarks and implementing a program to provide pro-rated incentives to companies for achieving these benchmarks.

Quick Facts:

• B.C.’s natural gas potential is estimated at over 2,933 trillion cubic feet, which is over 150 years of natural gas supply.
• B.C.’s natural gas resources reserves are projected to triple in the next 20 years.
• The natural gas sector in B.C. employs over 13,000 British Columbians.
• B.C. is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the country - responsible for 26% of Canadian production.
• Three environmental assessment certificates have been issued for projects in B.C. - two gas pipelines and one liquefaction plant.
• Firms have spent $6 billion on upstream activities such as buying gas assets and drilling wells, and $2 billion on mid and downstream activities, such as acquiring land and working through environmental permits.

Learn More:

For more information on B.C.’s Liquefied Natural Gas Strategy: http://www.gov.bc.ca/ener/popt/down/liquefied_natural_gas_strategy.pdf

To find out more about the BC Jobs Plan, visit: http://engage.gov.bc.ca/bcjobsplan/

Media Contacts:

Sam Oliphant
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
250 952-7252