The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that Petronas is nearing a decision on
proceeding with a massive West
Coast LNG project.
The Globe's Jeffrey Jones writes that Petronas boss Shamsul Azhar Abbas has taken to
playing hardball
as the B.C. government gets down
to putting final touches on a
tax regime for
the liquefied natural gas industry.
Mr. Abbas wants B.C.
Premier Christy Clark to okay a
fiscal package that has got just the
right incentives for building
hugely expensive plants. He wants it done soon. Mr. Abbas suggests he could shut down development
and the planned expenditure of $36-billion over the next 10 to 15
years. The Globe says Mr. Abbas's tactic is not unlike those
used by pro sports team owners
when they demand tax breaks
and other government goodies to
build new stadiums, and threaten
to move the team if they get
rejected.
Mr. Abbas knows Ms. Clark's
weak spot on the public stage. It is
in the promise she held up during
the last provincial election of
a supercooled gas industry to rival
others around the world. She
said British Columbians could
expect three operating plants by
the end of the decade, something
that now looks highly unlikely.
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