Kuala lumpur: Canada is offering new incentives to attract oil majors like Petronas to boost investments in its liquefied natural gas (LNG) sector, as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government moves to streamline and fast-track permits for foreign investors in LNG and clean energy projects.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada’s president and chief executive officer, Jeff Nankivell, highlighted that these incentives provide greater certainty and a much shorter window for investors to enjoy a revenue stream. “Obviously, that affects the value of the investment, which is the most important kind of incentive,” he told Bernama in a Zoom interview.
The Singapore-based Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada will be organizing the Canada-ASEAN Business Forum 2025, coinciding with the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting, where Canada’s trade and economics minister will attend as a dialogue partner.
Nankivell mentioned that Carney, who will be attending the 47th ASEAN Summit in October, is expected to emphasize Canada’s commitment to streamlining and fast-tracking major project development during the summit. Canada’s efforts to attract oil majors align with Petronas’s ambition to expand its presence in the country, as Canada is now one of its major LNG suppliers.
In a statement last month, the national oil corporation revealed it has about 50 trillion cubic feet of gas in Canada, noting that its LNG Canada project is currently only in Phase One. Petronas successfully shipped the first LNG cargo from its Canada facility in Kitimat, British Columbia, on July 8 this year.
Petronas operates the North Montney Joint Venture upstream gas project and is a major equity partner with a 25 percent stake in LNG Canada, a US$40 billion LNG facility.
Nankivell remarked that the landscape has shifted for Southeast Asian investors who, a decade ago, might have overlooked Canadian projects in favor of more attractive opportunities elsewhere. “Now is absolutely the time to be taking another look because there are new opportunities and a new spirit in the government at the federal level in Canada, as the regulatory environment makes it much more favorable to the fast development of major projects,” he said.