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Clark sticking by projection of riches in booming LNG industry

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VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The premier is sticking by her government’s predictions of a booming LNG industry in this province.

This comes in the wake of a new report which questions those financial figures.

Christy Clark says the numbers her government has forecasted when it comes to LNG-related revenue add up, and in fact could even turn out to be a low-ball guess.

“It depends on how many LNG projects we get in British Columbia,” Clark said. “If there are more projects than we expected, those numbers might be low — might turn out to be conservative.”

This despite a report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives which suggests Clark’s government’s estimates are too high.

“My view is if we continue to work as hard as we have, and continue to see the kind of success that we’ve had, who knows,” Clark said Wednesday. “Those numbers could turn out to be low. We may be more successful than we expected.”

Clark made her comments at a press conference to announce the signing of a joint venture deal for building an LNG export project in Kitimat.

Four companies have signed on to develop LNG Canada, the entity behind a proposed liquefied natural gas project, which Clark says has reached an important milestone.

Shell Canada, PetroChina, Korea Gas Corp. and Mitsubishi are taking part in the project.

LNG Canada CEO Andy Calitz says the agreement does not mean that a final decision to build the project has been made.

He says such a massive undertaking comes with significant investment challenges and there’s much work to be done including an environmental assessment and consultations with First Nations and communities.

Calitz says LNG Canada also needs assurances of an ample labour pool and will work closely with the federal and BC governments to ensure the project is economically viable.

Clark has said the project will decide the province’s economic future and that the government is taking steps to provide skills training for future LNG workers.

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