PRINCE RUPERT (NEWS1130) – A federal review is getting underway into Progress Energy‘s proposed multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas terminal to be built on the BC north coast.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency is inviting public comments on the $9-billion facility in Prince Rupert to chill natural gas to a liquid state so it can be shipped to lucrative markets in Asia.

Under the revised environmental assessment act, the agency must first decide whether a full federal environmental assessment is necessary.

The agency is gathering written comments from the public until March 11, as part of a 45-day evaluation period.

Progress, which is now a subsidiary of Malaysian state-owned firm Petronas, has applied to build two plants expected to process six million tonnes of natural gas annually.

BC is banking on what the Liberal government says is a trillion-dollar LNG industry over the next 30 years with five LNG projects proposed for Prince Rupert and Kitimat.