Petronas to extend takeover bid for Progress Energy

PETRONAS Canada intends to make further submissions to the Minister in order to obtain approval of the proposed transaction. -- The key point from a Petronas media release on the subject of the Petronas takeover bid on Progress Energy

The local hand wringing over the potential demise of the proposed Petronas LNG Terminal for Prince Rupert will have to be held off for another month at least and in the end may have been a premature bit of angst after all.

Yesterday, the Malaysian Energy giant announced that it was extending its deadline for the takeover of Progress Energy, making plans to revise its bid and had plans to re-submit their proposal to Ottawa in hopes to bring to a successful conclusion to their 6 billion dollar deal.

The sticking point for Petronas will be to provide evidence to the Canadian government that the takeover of Progress would be of "net benefit" to the nation.

The rejection by the Federal government last week, rumbled across the energy sector, with the impact reaching all the way to Prince Rupert, where the potential of an LNG Terminal from Petronas has caught the imagination of Rupertites.

The potential of that deal falling through left many fearful that the large industrial project for just off Ridley Island was at risk, reflective in some of the stories from the local media at the time.

You can review some of the reviews of the initial announcement of the takeover's rejection here.

The new date of note for local LNG watchers will November 30th, when the new Petronas deadline takes effect and even that one may not be cast in stone, as Petronas has advised that it could be extended twice more.

The impression that seems to be percolating with the latest developments is that Petronas is anxious to close the deal and will work towards that result, seeking to reassure Ottawa as to its intentions and outlining the benefits that the energy giant could provide as per Ottawa's request.

Some of the background on the latest move by Petronas can be found below.

Our full archive on LNG development on the North Coast can be found here.

Financial Times-- Petronas extends deadline for Progress bid
National Post-- Petronas extends takeover bid for Progress in hopes of winning approval
National Post-- Market still has faith in Progress-Petronas deal
Calgary Herald-- Petronas extends takeover bid for Progress Energy in hopes of winning approval
CBC-- Petronas extends Progress Energy takeover offer
Asia One-- Petronas to renew Progress bid