<div>Indian Oil Corporation will invest $4 billion in the British Columbia province, Canada, to source liquefied natural gas from the region.<br /><br />Premier of British Columbia, Canada Christy Clark said: "Indian Oil is poised to make its biggest investment in Canada to secure natural gas for India from BC."<br /><br />She said the state-run firm will invest $4 billion for securing LNG supplies from the Canadian province.<br /><br />IOC, in May, signed a deal to buy 10 per cent stake in shale-gas assets and a linked liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in British Columbia.<br /><br />The Canadian asset will produce as much as 19.68 million tonnes of LNG a year for 25 years starting in 2018.<br /><br />That apart, Clark said, GMR Group of India and IC-Impacts of her province will now work together on safe and sustainable infrastructure like innovative pavement technology, construction design and water and waste water infrastructure.<br /><br />Wooing domestic investors, she said: "We, in British Columbia, would like to partner with this great country to realise its potential by providing LNG to power its future. We recognise that there will be a mix of energy sources - coal, oil, solar, wind.<br /><br />"India needs a million skilled workers a year, every year, for the next 15 years. We can help. If we can help train 3,000 and 300 of them help us build an LNG industry -- it's good for you and good for us."<br /><br />Reliance Industries has also signed on with IC-Impacts to share research, training and develop new technologies in such areas as specialised building materials for infrastructure like bridges, roads and buildings.<br /><br />The state government of Punjab and BC have committed to work together on skills training, education and agriculture.<br /><br />Projecting BC as an attractive destination for investment in the LNG space, Clarke said: "There are several advantages -- short transportation time to Asia to save cost, lower operating costs, vast gas reserves, stable and reliable jurisdiction and a strong regulatory regime."<br /><br />The Canadian province is also expecting big ticket investments in its energy space from other geographies as well. It is likely to finalise $36 billion from Petronas of Malaysia by this new year.<br /><br />Earlier this week, Clark announced a funding for 20 scholarships, worth a total of 50,000 dollars, to support and encourage two-way exchange of students between the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) and Sanatan Dharma (SD) College in Chandigarh.<br /><br />(PTI)</div>
