<div>Petronas' plan to build a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal on Canada's Pacific coast edged closer to reality on Friday (07 March), as the Malaysian energy giant secured a third equity and offtake partner for the massive gas export project.<br /><br />Petronas said it would sell state-owned refiner Indian Oil Corp (IOC) a 10 per cent stake in its Pacific NorthWest LNG project, along with a 10 per cent stake in the northern British Columbia shale gas assets that will feed the LNG facility.<br /><br />India's largest oil refiner also agreed to an offtake deal for 1.2 million tonnes of LNG each year, or about 10 per cent of the project's annual exports.<br /><br />Petronas' Pacific NorthWest project is just one of about a dozen LNG terminals proposed for British Columbia's rugged Pacific coast, as top global energy firms scramble to build the facilities to export cheap Canadian gas to hungry Asian markets.<br /><br />The Malaysian state oil firm, which landed on the scene in 2012 with its C$5.2 billion takeover of Canada's Progress Energy Resources, has moved quickly to leapfrog its rivals. It secured an export permit in December and filed its key environmental documents last month.<br /><br />Petronas to build a 12 million tonne per year terminal near Prince Rupert, along the province's north coast, with first exports in late 2018. The liquefaction and export facilities are expected to cost up to $11 billion.<br /><br />Petronas has so far signed on three partners, including Japan Petroleum Exploration Co Ltd (Japex) and state-owned PetroleumBRUNEI, and will hold a 77 per cent stake when the IOC deal closes.<br /><br />IOC and Petronas did not disclose the financial details of their deal, but the Indian cabinet approved the purchase of the stake for C$1 billion in February, a government source told Reuters at the time.<br /><br />Indian companies, like their Asian peers, have been scouting for oil and gas assets abroad to meet rising domestic demand.<br /><br />India's gas demand will rise to 466 million cubic metres per day (mcmd) in 2016/17 ending March 31 from 286 mcmd in 2012/2013, according to government estimates, while its supply will be only half that amount.<br /><br />IOC said the super-cooled gas it takes from the Canadian facility each year will meet some of the requirement of its planned 5 million tonne a year Ennore LNG import terminal in Southern India.<br /><br />Jefferies India Private Ltd acted as sole financial adviser for IOC on the deal, while Stikeman Elliott LLP was its legal adviser.<br /><br />(Reuters)</div>
